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The Korean Alphabet · Part 1
What Hangul is and why it was created
King Sejong the Great created Hangul in 1443 so everyone could read and write. It is a phonetic alphabet: what you see tells you what to say.
세종대왕sejongdaewang
King Sejong the Great
Modern Hangul has 14 basic consonants (자음) and 10 basic vowels (모음). In Part 1, you will learn 7 consonants and 6 vowels.
자음 + 모음jaeum + moeum
consonant + vowel
💡 Remember
Your first seven consonants
ㄱ is a soft g/k made at the back of the mouth. ㄴ is n, with the tongue behind the top teeth. ㄷ is a light d/t.
가 · 나 · 다ga · na · da
ga · na · da
ㄹ is a quick tongue flap, similar to a Spanish r—flick it, don't roll it. ㅁ is m; its square shape reflects closed lips.
라 · 마ra · ma
ra · ma
ㅂ is a soft b/p made by closing and opening the lips. ㅅ is s, but before ㅣ it sounds like sh: 시 = shi.
바 · 사 · 시ba · sa · si
ba · sa · shi
💡 Remember
Your first six vowels
ㅏ is a as in father. ㅣ is ee as in see. ㅗ is a pure o as in go, without an English-style glide.
아 · 이 · 오a · i · o
a · i · o
가 · 기 · 고ga · gi · go
ga · gi · go
ㅜ is oo as in food. ㅔ is e as in bed. ㅡ has no exact English match: say uh with your lips spread wide and your tongue pulled back.
우 · 에 · 으u · e · eu
u · e · eu
구 · 게 · 그gu · ge · geu
gu · ge · geu
💡 Remember
How syllable blocks work
With a vertical vowel such as ㅏ or ㅣ, put the consonant on the LEFT and the vowel on the RIGHT.
ㄱ + ㅏ = 가g/k + a = ga
g/k + a = ga
ㄴ + ㅣ = 니n + i = ni
n + i = ni
With a horizontal vowel such as ㅗ, ㅜ, or ㅡ, put the consonant on TOP and the vowel on the BOTTOM.
ㄱ + ㅗ = 고g/k + o = go
g/k + o = go
ㅁ + ㅜ = 무m + u = mu
m + u = mu
A vowel cannot stand alone in a syllable block. Put silent ㅇ in the consonant position as a placeholder.
ㅏ → 아a → a
a
ㅣ → 이i → i
i
ㅗ → 오o → o
o
💡 Remember