Learn to read Korean
A short, active path into reading Korean: take a syllable block apart, decode ten real words before the full alphabet, learn the sound changes automatic romanizers get wrong, and read a small story before opening your first book.
Letter reference: look up, do not recite
- Open this when a letter you have not met blocks a word; the two stories at the end do not need any of it.
- Hangul is twenty-four letters — fourteen consonants and ten vowels — designed in the fifteenth century to be learnable in a morning.
- Five consonants are pictures of the mouth making the sound; the rest are those five with strokes added.
- An added stroke means a puff of air; doubling means a tense sound with no puff at all.
- The grids show the letters already assembled into squares, so nothing in them is new.
You do not need this section to finish the lesson. Open it when a square contains a letter the sixteen-letter table did not cover, or when you want the names and shapes in one place. Both stories at the end are readable without it.
Two kinds of letter, as in English. A consonant is a sound you make by getting in the way of the air — b, k, s. A vowel is the open sound the air makes on its own — a, e, o. Korean letters are one or the other, and they do not change their sound the way English c does.
The fourteen basic consonants
- ㄱ기역 gi-yeokg at the start of a word, k at the endThe back of the tongue humped up against the roof of the mouth, drawn from the side — say “g” and feel it make this exact shape.개gae“dog”
- ㄴ니은 ni-eunn as in noThe tongue tip touching just behind the top teeth, seen from the side.나무na-mu“tree”
- ㄷ디귿 di-geutd at the start, t at the endㄴ with a lid on it: same tongue position, but the air is shut in and released as a d.달dal“moon”
- ㄹ리을 ri-eulbetween r and l — a light tap at the start, an l at the endA zigzag — the tongue flicking down and up again, which is what makes it land between r and l.물mul“water”
- ㅁ미음 mi-eumm as in meA mouth, drawn as a box. Closed lips, and the sound comes out of the nose.문mun“door”
- ㅂ비읍 bi-eupb at the start, p at the endThe mouth-box ㅁ with its lid lifted off — the lips popping open to let the b out.비bi“rain”
- ㅅ시옷 shi-ots as in see; sh before the i soundA tooth — or a little mountain — with the air hissing over the point of it.새sae“bird”
- ㅇ이응 i-eungsilent at the start of a square; ng at the bottomAn open round throat. An open hole makes no sound of its own at the front of a square.여우yeo-u“fox”
- ㅈ지읒 ji-eutj as in jamThe tooth ㅅ wearing a hat: the hiss with a stop in front of it, which is what a j is.집jip“house”
- ㅊ치읓 chi-eutch as in chair, with a puff of airㅈ with one more stroke on top — and the extra stroke is the puff of air.친구chin-gu“friend”
- ㅋ키읔 ki-eukk as in kite, with a puff of airㄱ with a bar through the middle: same tongue, one extra stroke, one puff of air.코ko“nose”
- ㅌ티읕 ti-eutt as in top, with a puff of airㄷ with a third line inside it — the puffed version of the same d.토끼to-kki“rabbit”
- ㅍ피읖 pi-eupp as in pot, with a puff of airThe lip letter ㅂ tipped on its side: two posts under a lid, and air blown between them.팔pal“arm; eight”
- ㅎ히읗 hi-euth as in hatThe open throat ㅇ wearing a hat — breath escaping over the top of it.해hae“sun”
Each letter has a name, which you will see in dictionaries and hear when someone spells something out. You do not have to learn the names to read.
Add a stroke, add a puff of air
Five more are made by doubling a letter. A doubled letter is tense: the mouth is tight, the sound is short and hard, and there is no puff of air at all. The nearest English has is the difference between “sky” and “kye” — the k in “sky” is the tense one.
The five doubled consonants
- ㄲ쌍기역 ssang-gi-yeoktight k, no puffTwo ㄱ shoulder to shoulder, with no room for air between them — that squeeze is the catch you hear in the middle of 토끼.토끼to-kki“rabbit”
- ㄸ쌍디귿 ssang-di-geuttight t, no puff그때geu-ttae“then”
- ㅃ쌍비읍 ssang-bi-euptight p, no puff오빠o-ppa“a girl's older brother”
- ㅆ쌍시옷 ssang-shi-ottight sTwo teeth instead of one: the hiss with the jaw clenched, as in the “ss” of “hiss” said hard.있다it-tta“there is”
- ㅉ쌍지읒 ssang-ji-euttight j가짜ga-jja“a fake”
These five are not part of the twenty-four. They are letters you already have, written twice — and the doubling is not a spelling convention, it is a different sound.
The vowels are even more regular. Each of the ten basic vowels is a long line — upright or flat — with short marks added, and a second short mark puts a y in front of the vowel and changes nothing else. The compound vowels after them are built differently: two basic vowels side by side.
The ten basic vowels
- ㅏ아 aa as in fatherThe standing person ㅣ with the sun on the east side of them: a bright, wide-open vowel.말mal“horse”
- ㅑ야 yaya as in yardㅏ with a second mark, and the second mark is the y. The same trick makes ㅕ, ㅛ and ㅠ.이야기i-ya-gi“a story”
- ㅓ어 eou as in cup — not a long oThe sun on the other side of the person — the dark twin of ㅏ. Say “cup”, never “oh”.어디eo-di“where”
- ㅕ여 yeoyu as in young여우yeo-u“fox”
- ㅗ오 oo as in more, lips roundedThe sun above the flat ground ㅡ. Sun up, lips rounded up.곰gom“bear”
- ㅛ요 yoyo as in yodel고요go-yo“stillness”
- ㅜ우 uoo as in moonThe same sun, now below the ground — the downward mirror of ㅗ.물mul“water”
- ㅠ유 yuyou우유u-yu“milk”
- ㅡ으 euthe swallowed vowel in “taken” — lips flat, almost nothingThe flat ground, and your lips are flat to match. A line this plain can barely be a vowel.그geu“that”
- ㅣ이 iee as in seeA person standing upright — the tall thin letter for the tall thin “ee”.비bi“rain”
A vowel is never written alone. It always sits with a consonant, and if there is no consonant sound it sits with the silent placeholder ㅇ.
The eleven compound vowels
- ㅐㅏ + ㅣe as in bedYou can see the ㅏ inside it. That is the one to look for later in 내 nae “my”.개gae“dog”
- ㅔㅓ + ㅣe as in bed — the same sound as ㅐ for nearly everyoneThe ㅓ inside it is the only thing telling it apart from ㅐ — and 네 ne is “your”.네ne“yes”
- ㅘㅗ + ㅏwa as in wander사과sa-gwa“apple”
- ㅝㅜ + ㅓwo as in won뭐mwo“what”
- ㅚㅗ + ㅣwe as in wet회색hoe-saek“grey”
- ㅟㅜ + ㅣwee쥐jwi“mouse”
- ㅙㅗ + ㅐwe as in wet돼지dwae-ji“pig”
- ㅞㅜ + ㅔwe as in wet — the same again웨딩we-ding“wedding”
- ㅒㅑ + ㅣye as in yes얘yae“this kid”
- ㅖㅕ + ㅣye as in yes예쁘다ye-ppeu-da“is pretty”
- ㅢㅡ + ㅣeu-i said fast; usually just “i”, and just “e” in the possessive tagThe ground ㅡ and the person ㅣ side by side — written as two, said as barely one.의자ui-ja“chair”
Each is two basic vowels written side by side. Some still sound like both halves run together; a few have collapsed into one sound that most speakers no longer distinguish.
Consonant across, vowel down: the syllable squares
| Row | ㅏ a | ㅓ eo | ㅗ o | ㅜ u | ㅡ eu | ㅣ i |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ g | 가ga | 거geo | 고go | 구gu | 그geu | 기gi |
| ㄴ n | 나na | 너neo | 노no | 누nu | 느neu | 니ni |
| ㅁ m | 마ma | 머meo | 모mo | 무mu | 므meu | 미mi |
| ㅂ b | 바ba | 버beo | 보bo | 부bu | 브beu | 비bi |
| ㅅ s | 사sa | 서seo | 소so | 수su | 스seu | 시shi |
| ㅇ (silent) | 아a | 어eo | 오o | 우u | 으eu | 이i |
Read a row and you are saying one consonant with every vowel. Read a column and you are saying one vowel with every consonant. Nothing here has to be memorised — it is the letters from this same section, arranged. The consonants not shown build the same way.
Puffed and doubled consonants in squares
| Row | ㅏ a | ㅗ o | ㅣ i |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅋ k | 카ka | 코ko | 키ki |
| ㄲ kk | 까kka | 꼬kko | 끼kki |
| ㅆ ss | 싸ssa | 쏘sso | 씨ssi |
The other six behave the same way, and you can build them in your head: ㅌ gives 타ta, ㅃ gives 빠ppa. There is no separate system to learn.
The seven closing sounds, in full
| Sound at the end | Letters written there | Example |
|---|---|---|
| k | ㄱ ㅋ ㄲ | 책chaek“book” |
| n | ㄴ | 문mun“door” |
| t | ㄷ ㅌ ㅅ ㅆ ㅈ ㅊ ㅎ | 옷ot“clothes” |
| l | ㄹ | 물mul“water” |
| m | ㅁ | 곰gom“bear” |
| p | ㅂ ㅍ | 숲sup“forest” |
| ng | ㅇ | 강gang“river” |
Seven different letters all come out as a plain t. That is why 옷ot is “ot” and not “os” — until something follows it, and the s comes back.