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.
Start here
1 sectionStart here: what this path does
- This path starts from no Korean and ends with a short story whose pronunciation and English begin hidden.
- Korean letters pack into square blocks; first you will see how to build one, then take one apart.
- Automatic romanizers get Korean wrong; every respelling here follows the sound, not the spelling.
- Books end sentences in 다da; people speaking end them in 요yo. The lesson teaches the book style and names the spoken one where a person is talking.
- Stop after any checkpoint. The letter tables are for looking things up, not memorising.
This is short preparation for reading a book, not a grammar course. It teaches how a square of Korean letters comes apart into sounds, where the pieces of a sentence sit, and enough recurring words to get through a first page with help. You never have to type Korean or write a letter by hand.
forest
숲
sup
The large word is the spelling, sup the pronunciation guide, the English the meaning. At checkpoints, the last two stay hidden until you reveal them.
How to use a checkpoint
Look at the Korean first. Then reveal.
- 숲
One square, so one syllable. Three letters are packed into it.
Show answer +Hide answer −
숲sup“forest”. Say “sup”.