Chapter 2 of 17 · Explore the Korean path
Sounds · Chapter 2 of 17
How Korean letters pack into squares
Each square is one syllable. Learn sixteen letters, watch four squares being built, then take one apart again by finding the vowel first.
≈ 6 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- One square is one syllable. Inside: consonant first, then vowel — to the right if the vowel is tall, underneath if it is flat.
- A third letter can sit under the square: the closing sound, called the 받침
bat-chim. - The circle ㅇ is a silent placeholder at the front of a square, and ng underneath one.
- Sixteen letters are enough to decode the ten words in the next section.
Read Korean one square at a time, from left to right. Each square is one syllable: several letters fitted together. Meet the letters first, then build a few squares together before trying to take one apart.
Sixteen letters to start with
Each Korean letter spells one sound. These sixteen carry every word in the next few sections. Read across each row and try the sound aloud.
| Letter | Sound to try |
|---|---|
| ㄱ | g as in go |
| ㄴ | n as in no |
| ㅁ | m as in me |
| ㅂ | b; a plain p underneath a square |
| ㅅ | s as in see |
| ㅇ | silent at the front; ng underneath |
| ㅈ | j as in jam |
| ㅎ | h as in hat |
| ㅍ | p with a puff of air; plain p underneath |
| ㄹ | a light tap between r and l; an l underneath |
| ㅏ | a as in father |
| ㅐ | e as in bed |
| ㅗ | o as in more, lips rounded |
| ㅜ | oo as in moon |
| ㅣ | ee as in see |
| ㅕ | yu as in young |
Ten consonants and six vowels. The rest — there are not many — are in the letter-reference section; nothing before the readings needs them.
Start with a consonant, then add a vowel. The vowel decides the layout: tall vowels ㅏ ㅐ ㅣ ㅕ sit to the right; flat vowels ㅗ ㅜ sit below. The letters squeeze into one square, so their proportions can change. Say the result as one syllable.
Build a square, one letter at a time
Watch four squares being assembled. Follow the steps in order, and notice where the vowel lands each time.
1. Put a tall vowel beside it
ㄱ + ㅏ → 가ga
- Start with ㄱ
g on the left. - Place ㅏ
a on its right. Read left → right: g + a makes 가 ga.
- Start with ㄱ
2. Put a flat vowel below it
ㄱ + ㅗ → 고go
- Keep ㄱ
g, this time at the top. - Place ㅗ
o below it. Read top → bottom: g + o makes 고 go.
- Keep ㄱ
3. Add a closing sound underneath
ㄱ + ㅏ + ㅇ → 강gang
- Build 가
ga again: ㄱ left, ㅏ right. - Fit ㅇ
ng under both letters. Read the top pair, then the bottom: ga + ng makes 강 gang “river”.
- Build 가
4. Close a stacked block too
ㅁ + ㅜ + ㄹ → 물mul
- Put ㅁ
m above ㅜ u to make 무 mu. - Fit ㄹ
l below the vowel. Read top → middle → bottom: mu + l makes 물 mul “water”.
- Put ㅁ
Now try the pattern in a small grid. Choose a consonant row and a vowel column; where they meet is the finished square. Across a row, only the vowel changes. Down a column, only the starting consonant changes.
Mix four consonants with four vowels
Nothing in the grid is a new letter. Use it to check any square whose shape you are unsure of.
| Row | ㅏ a · right | ㅣ i · right | ㅗ o · below | ㅜ u · below |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ g | 가ga | 기gi | 고go | 구gu |
| ㄴ n | 나na | 니ni | 노no | 누nu |
| ㅁ m | 마ma | 미mi | 모mo | 무mu |
| ㅇ silent | 아a | 이i | 오o | 우u |
These are syllables to practise, not a vocabulary list to memorise. Follow the ㅁ row: ma, mi, mo, mu. Notice how the vowel moves from beside the consonant to below it.
Take a square apart, step by step
Now work the other way. Find the vowel first, then the consonant in front of it, then anything sitting underneath.
Unpack the square before you say it
Keep the letter table and worked examples handy. Find the vowel, then read the starting consonant, vowel, and any closing consonant underneath. Try the sound, then reveal.
- 비
A tall vowel, standing to the right.
Show answer +Hide answer −
ㅂ + ㅣ → 비bi “rain” - 문
Three letters: one is underneath.
Show answer +Hide answer −
ㅁ + ㅜ + ㄴ → 문mun “door” - 눈
The first and last letter are the same one.
Show answer +Hide answer −
ㄴ + ㅜ + ㄴ → 눈nun “snow; eye”