Hangul
Hangul (한글) is the Korean alphabet, invented in 1443 by King Sejong the Great specifically to be easy to learn. Before Hangul, Koreans used Chinese characters, which took years to master. Sejong's goal was literacy for all citizens, and his design is ingenious: each letter represents exactly one sound, letters are logically grouped into syllable blocks, and the shapes even hint at how to position your mouth. You can learn Hangul in a few hours — making it one of the fastest wins in any language learning journey.
Why Hangul is special
Linguists consider Hangul one of the world's most logical and scientific writing systems. Unlike alphabets that evolved organically over centuries, Hangul was designed from scratch with learning and logic in mind:
- Designed to be easy to learn
- Each symbol represents exactly one sound
- Letters are grouped into syllable blocks
- You can learn it in a few hours
Consonants
| Letter | Sound | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 🔊 ㄱ | g/k | giyeok |
| 🔊 ㄴ | n | nieun |
| 🔊 ㄷ | d/t | digeut |
| 🔊 ㄹ | r/l | rieul |
| 🔊 ㅁ | m | mieum |
| 🔊 ㅂ | b/p | bieup |
| 🔊 ㅅ | s | siot |
| 🔊 ㅇ | silent (initial) / ng (final) | ieung |
| 🔊 ㅈ | j | jieut |
| 🔊 ㅊ | ch | chieut |
| 🔊 ㅋ | k (aspirated) | kieuk |
| 🔊 ㅌ | t (aspirated) | tieut |
| 🔊 ㅍ | p (aspirated) | pieup |
| 🔊 ㅎ | h | hieut |
Double consonants (tense)
| Letter | Sound |
|---|---|
| 🔊 ㄲ | kk |
| 🔊 ㄸ | tt |
| 🔊 ㅃ | pp |
| 🔊 ㅆ | ss |
| 🔊 ㅉ | jj |
Vowels
| Letter | Sound |
|---|---|
| 🔊 ㅏ | a (ah) |
| 🔊 ㅓ | eo (uh) |
| 🔊 ㅗ | o (oh) |
| 🔊 ㅜ | u (oo) |
| 🔊 ㅡ | eu (uh, unrounded) |
| 🔊 ㅣ | i (ee) |
| 🔊 ㅐ | ae (e as in "bed") |
| 🔊 ㅔ | e (e as in "bed") |
| 🔊 ㅑ | ya |
| 🔊 ㅕ | yeo |
| 🔊 ㅛ | yo |
| 🔊 ㅠ | yu |
| 🔊 ㅒ | yae |
| 🔊 ㅖ | ye |
Compound vowels
| Letter | Sound |
|---|---|
| 🔊 ㅘ | wa |
| 🔊 ㅝ | wo |
| 🔊 ㅙ | wae |
| 🔊 ㅞ | we |
| 🔊 ㅚ | oe (sounds like "we") |
| 🔊 ㅟ | wi |
| 🔊 ㅢ | ui |
Syllable blocks
Korean letters combine into syllable blocks:
| Structure | Example |
|---|---|
| Consonant + Vowel | 🔊 가 (ga) = ㄱ + ㅏ |
| C + V + C | 🔊 한 (han) = ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ |
| C + V + C + C | 🔊 닭 (dak) = ㄷ + ㅏ + ㄹ + ㄱ |
Reading order: left to right, top to bottom within blocks.
Sound changes
Korean has pronunciation rules that differ from spelling:
- Final ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ may change before other consonants
- ㅇ at the start is silent; at the end is "ng"
- Double consonants between syllables split
Practice words
| Hangul | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 🔊 안녕 | annyeong | hello |
| 🔊 한국 | hanguk | Korea |
| 🔊 사랑 | sarang | love |
| 🔊 감사 | gamsa | thanks |
| 🔊 밥 | bap | rice/meal |