Korean in 3 Minutes

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Korean Writing

2. Hangul Chart: Korean Consonants
3. Hangul Chart: Korean Vowels
4. Hangul Chart: Consonant + Vowel
5. Why is Learning Hangul Important?
6. How to Learn Hangul & Get Your Free Hangul eBook
7. The Secret to Learning the Korean Alphabet Fast
8. Hangul Quizzes
9. Related Lessons
1. Introduction to Korean Writing
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The Korean alphabet has been called “brilliant” by linguists who study how the alphabet relates
to the spoken language. Indeed, the alphabet, which is called hangul, is purposely simple in
design. King 세종 (Sejong) invented 한글 (Hangeul) and announced it to the public in 1446, and
it has been the official writing system ever since. King 세종 (Sejong) invented this system, which

was one of the many great things that he did for the country and the people, because he felt that
it was not right for Korea not to have its own writing system.

Before the invention of Hangul, people used the borrowed characters from Chinese that
had the closest sounds to the Korean sounds, but this was not an ideal system for
writing Korean. Hanja, the Chinese script, was so complex that only the very wealthy
elite were able to understand and write it. Most people in Korea were illiterate.

When the Korean alphabet was introduced it quickly became popular and was used by
everyone. Now, people consider Korean hangul writing to be one of the most scientific
writing systems in the world because it can express more sounds more accurately than
any other writing system can. The name hangul can be directly translated to mean
“great script” or “Korean script.” Hangul is used in North and South Korea, but in North
Korea it is called chosongul.

There are 24 letters in the Korean alphabet: 14 consonants and 10 vowels. There are
compound consonants and vowels too, but we form them by combining the basic
consonants and vowels. Therefore, if you understand the basic consonants and vowels,
of which there are just twenty-four, you can basically read everything in Korean. You
form hangul words by combining consonants and vowels. Unlike in English, in which
you just write one letter after another in a straight line to form words, in Korean you form
a square or a block for each syllable. For example, if you want to write the English name
“Sam,” it’s three letters written one after another in a line, but in Korean, it’s 샘, one

letter, composed of three parts, written in a square. If you want to learn how to write
your name in Korean, check out our Korean name page. These blocks are then placed
left to right to form Korean words. The writing is then read left to right, similar to western
writing.

When students first begin learning the alphabet it is helpful to remember that all
consonants are designed to represent the shape the mouth will make as you pronounce
it, and all vowels are designed using horizontal or vertical strokes. Learning the
alphabet will become the basis of all further Korean lessons the student chooses to
undertake, so it’s important to have a clear understanding before you move on to other
lessons. Though the alphabet may seem difficult to learn at first, students should keep
in mind that it was designed to be learned by all Koreans and there is nothing elitist
about it.

If a student does find themselves feeling intimidated or becoming frustrated with the
learning process, a Korean podcast can help them overcome any feelings of stress.
KoreanClass101 offers podcasts that can help students further their studies of
the Korean language and get them to a point where they are comfortable conversing in
the language with anyone. Learning Korean letters can actually be one of the simplest
portions of your lessons. Because of its inherent design the alphabet might not be so
easy even a baby can learn it, but it does come close. Once you take the time to learn
the alphabet, the rest of the Korean language should follow easily.

2. Hangul Chart: Korean Consonants

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ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ
g n d r/l m
 ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ
b s no sound/ng j ch

ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ
k t p h

ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ
kk tt pp ss jj

Download the Hangul Chart Image

The first hangul alphabet chart is the Korean character list of the basic consonants in
Korean, with their similar sounds in English. The first 3 rows are basic consonants and
the last row is double consonants.

Please bear in mind that Korean consonants don’t sound exactly the same as English
consonants. For example, the romanization of ㄱ is ‘g’ but the actual sound is like

between g and k in English. Here’s the list of consonants that might confuse you:

 ㄱ (g): It sounds between g and k in English.

 ㄴ (n): It sounds between n and d in English.
 ㄷ (d): It sounds between d and t in English.
 ㅂ (b): It sounds between b and p in English.
 ㅈ (j): It sounds between n and d in English.

Please note that ㅇ has no sound if it comes as the initial consonant. For instance, 아 is
ㅇ (slient) + ㅏ (a) so it sounds ‘a’. However, when it comes as the final consonant, it
sounds like ‘ng’ so 강 is ㄱ (g) + ㅏ (a) + ㅇ (ng) so it sounds ‘gang’ and it means ‘river’

in Korea.

3. Hangul Chart: Korean Vowels

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 ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ
a ya eo yeo o

ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ
yo u yu eu i

ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅘ
ae yae e ye wa

ㅙ ㅚ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ
wae oe weo we wi

ㅢ
ui

Download the Hangul Chart Image

This Korean characters chart is the list of the hangul vowels in Korean, with the
romanized hangul reading written below. The first 2 rows are basic vowels and the rest
are vowel combination - You can make more vowel sounds just by combining basic
vowels.

4. Hangul Chart: Consonant + Vowel

Top

ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ
a ya eo yeo o yo u yu eu i

ㄱ 가 갸 거 겨 고 교 구 규 그 기
g ga gya geo gyeo go gyo gu gyu geu gi

ㄴ 나 냐 너 녀 노 뇨 누 뉴 느 니
n na nya neo nyeo no nyo nu nyu neu ni

ㄷ 다 댜 더 뎌 도 됴 두 듀 드 디
d da dya deo dyeo do dyo du dyu deu di

ㄹ 라 랴 러 려 로 료 루 류 르 리
r ra rya reo ryeo ro ryo ru ryu reu ri
 ㅁ 마 먀 머 며 모 묘 무 뮤 므 미
m ma mya meo myeo mo myo mu myu meu mi

ㅂ 바 뱌 버 벼 보 뵤 부 뷰 브 비
b ba bya beo byeo bo byo bu byu beu bi

ㅅ 사 샤 서 셔 소 쇼 수 슈 스 시
s sa sya seo syeo so syo su syu seu si

ㅇ 아 야 어 여 오 요 우 유 으 이
slient a ya eo yeo o yo u yu eu i

ㅈ 자 쟈 저 져 조 죠 주 쥬 즈 지
j ja jya jeo jyeo jo jyo ju jyu jeu ji

ㅊ 차 챠 처 쳐 초 쵸 추 츄 츠 치
ch cha chya cheo chyeo cho chyo chu chyu cheu chi

ㅋ 카 캬 커 켜 코 쿄 쿠 큐 크 키
k ka kya keo kyeo ko kyo ku kyu keu ki

ㅌ 타 탸 터 텨 토 툐 투 튜 트 티
t ta tya teo tyeo to tyo tu tyu teu ti

ㅍ 파 퍄 퍼 펴 포 표 푸 퓨 프 피
p pa pya peo pyeo po pyo pu pyu peu pi

ㅎ 하 햐 허 혀 호 효 후 휴 흐 히
h ha hya heo hyeo ho hyo hu hyu heu hi

ㄲ 까 꺄 꺼 껴 꼬 꾜 꾸 뀨 끄 끼
kk kka kkya kkeo kkyeo kko kkyo kku kkyu kkeu kki

ㄸ 따 땨 떠 뗘 또 뚀 뚜 뜌 뜨 띠
tt tta ttya tteo ttyeo tto ttyo ttu ttyu tteu tti

ㅃ 빠 뺘 뻐 뼈 뽀 뾰 뿌 쀼 쁘 삐
pp ppa ppya ppeo ppyeo ppo ppyo ppu ppyu ppeu ppi

ㅆ 싸 쌰 써 쎠 쏘 쑈 쑤 쓔 쓰 씨
ss ssa ssya sseo ssyeo sso ssyo ssu ssyu sseu ssi

ㅉ 짜 쨔 쩌 쪄 쪼 쬬 쭈 쮸 쯔 찌
jj jja jjya jjeo jjyeo jjo jjyo jju jjyu jjeu jji
 Download the Hangul Chart Image

Check the Korean hangul charts above. You’ll find some patterns with the Korean
syllable blocks in the list of Korean letters. They are just combinations of Korean
consonants and vowels. Forming a Korean letter using the consonants and the vowels
from above is very easy. As mentioned above, you form hangul letters by putting them
into a square shape and that’s a Korean syllable.

1) If the vowel has a long vertical line, like ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, or ㅣ, the consonant

comes in on the left half, and the vowel comes in on the right half.

For Example:

 ㅇ + ㅏ = 아 [a]
 ㄱ + ㅓ = 거 [geo]
 ㅂ + ㅣ = 비 [bi]

2) If the vowel has a long horizontal line, like ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, or ㅡ, the consonant

comes in on the upper half, and the vowel comes in on the lower half.

For Example:

 ㅇ + ㅗ = 오 [o]
 ㅈ + ㅜ = 주 [ju]
 ㅋ + ㅠ = 큐 [kyu]

You can make even more combinations by combining a consonant and a combined
vowel as follows. Don’t worry - you don’t need to memorize them all! You only need
to understand how they’re combined. You’ll naturally read and write once you
understand them.

ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅢ
ae yae e ye wa oe weo we we wi ui
 ㄱ 개 걔 게 계 과 괘 괴 궈 궤 귀 긔
g gae gyae ge gye gwa gwae goe gweo gwe gwi gui

ㄴ 내 냬 네 녜 놔 놰 뇌 눠 눼 뉘 늬
n nae nyae ne nye nwa nwae noe nweo nwe nwi nui

ㄷ 대 댸 데 뎨 돠 돼 되 둬 뒈 뒤 듸
d dae dyae de dye dwa dwae doe dweo dwe dwi dui

ㄹ 래 럐 레 례 롸 뢔 뢰 뤄 뤠 뤼 릐
r rae ryae re rye rwa rwae roe rweo rwe rwi rui

ㅁ 매 먜 메 몌 뫄 뫠 뫼 뭐 뭬 뮈 믜
m mae myae me mye mwa mwae moe mweo mwe mwi mui

ㅂ 배 뱨 베 볘 봐 봬 뵈 붜 붸 뷔 븨
b bae byae be bye bwa bwae boe bweo bwe bwi bui

ㅅ 새 섀 세 셰 솨 쇄 쇠 숴 쉐 쉬 싀
s sae syae se sye swa swae soe sweo swe swi sui

ㅇ 애 얘 에 예 와 왜 외 워 웨 위 의
slient ae yae e ye wa wae oe weo we wi ui

ㅈ 재 쟤 제 졔 좌 좨 죄 줘 줴 쥐 즤
j jae jyae je jye jwa jwae joe jweo jwe jwi jui

ㅊ 채 챼 체 쳬 촤 쵀 최 춰 췌 취 츼
ch chae chyae che chye chwa chwae choe chweo chwe chwi chui

ㅋ 캐 컈 케 켸 콰 쾌 쾨 쿼 퀘 퀴 킈
k kae kyae ke kye kwa kwae koe kweo kwe kwi kui

ㅌ 태 턔 테 톄 톼 퇘 퇴 퉈 퉤 튀 틔
t tae tyae te tye twa twae toe tweo twe twi tui

ㅍ 패 퍠 페 폐 퐈 퐤 푀 풔 풰 퓌 픠
p pae pyae pe pye pwa pwae poe pweo pwe pwi pui

ㅎ 해 햬 헤 혜 화 홰 회 훠 훼 휘 희
h hae hyae he hye hwa hwae hoe hweo hwe hwi hui

ㄲ 깨 꺠 께 꼐 꽈 꽤 꾀 꿔 꿰 뀌 끠
kk kkae kkyae kke kkye kkwa kkwae kkoe kkweo kkwe kkwi kkui
 ㄸ 때 떄 떼 뗴 똬 뙈 뙤 뚸 뛔 뛰 띄
tt ttae ttyae tte ttye ttwa ttwae ttoe ttweo ttwe ttwi ttui

ㅃ 빼 뺴 뻬 뼤 뽜 뽸 뾔 뿨 쀄 쀠 쁴
pp ppae ppyae ppe ppye ppwa ppwae ppoe ppweo ppwe ppwi ppui

ㅆ 쌔 썌 쎄 쎼 쏴 쐐 쐬 쒀 쒜 쒸 씌
ss ssae ssyae sse ssye sswa sswae ssoe ssweo sswe sswi ssui

ㅉ 째 쨰 쩨 쪠 쫘 쫴 쬐 쭤 쮀 쮜 쯰
jj jjae jjyae jje jjye jjwa jjwae jjoe jjweo jjwe jjwi jjui

Download the Hangul Chart Image

3) After a combination of a consonant and a vowel, if there is one more

consonant attached at the end, the consonant comes in at the very bottom of the
already existing square, and the other parts get squeezed a little toward the top to
make the entire shape a square again. And the final consonant is called 받침

(batchim).

For Example:

 아 + ㄴ = 안 [an]
 조 + ㅇ = 종 [jong]
 부 + ㄹ = 불 [bul]

I’m not going to add all the Korean letters that you can create by combining consonants
and vowels because you can read them all as long as you know you know how to sound
Korean consonants and vowels. The number of mathematically possible distinct Korean
blocks is 11,172, which is too much for any learners to remember. Just understand how
hangul blocks work!

5. Why is Learning Hangul Important?

Top
Usually when a beginner starts learning Korean, they will learn it in romanization, with the
hangul pronunciation written with the Roman alphabet. If you get addicted to romanization, you
will never be able to learn Korean.

 Romanization doesn’t help you read Korean texts

 Korean hangul letter helps you avoiding spelling confusion (e.g. 언니(older sister) is

commonly written as ‘unni’ but it should be ‘eonni’. ‘Unni’ can be the romanization of
운니.)

 Write the words correctly and in Korean!

 Get the right pronunciation from the start
 Be able to identify words and phrase patterns
  Most Korean people find romanization hard to understand

The question “Why learn hangul?” would be the same as asking you why you wanted to
start studying Korean in the first place. You can’t truly understand Korean culture if you
don’t understand the language in which the people write in the country.

Learning the Korean writing system will give you a greater understanding of the history
and culture. Learning hangul characters will give you the Korean basics you need to
speak, write and read most Korean. If you want to master the language of Korea and
become fluent, you must learn hangul first.

6. How to Learn Hangul & Get Your Free Hangul

eBook
Top
If you are still here, I assume you are not afraid of the challenge of learning all the
hangul. You want to know how to master hangul characters? Here is a guide to learning
Korean characters in few steps:

1. Get your easy hangul writing practice sheets, showing all the characters at
once. If you’re a KoreanClass101 member, you can download it for free. Click the button
below!
2. Memorize basic consonants and basic vowels. You can make combinations by
combining the basic ones.
3. Practice the combinations and see how they sound. Combine a hangul consonant
and a vowel to make a letter, and read it out loud.
4. Get acquainted with the stroke order
5. Write them out Again and again. To learn how to properly write hangul characters you
have to practice.

We’re giving this How to Write Hangul PDFs to ALL KoreanClass101 members. You
learn to read Korean and write hangul basics in 1 hour or less. With this hangul PDF
worksheets, you get…
  A Hangul Consonant Chart & Writing Tutorials
 A Hangul Vowel Chart & Writing Tutorials
 A Hangul Combination Chart & Writing Tutorials
 Printable Worksheets For You To Practice Writing On
 Bonus Hangul Quizzes for Review
 By The End, You Will Be Able to Read & Write in Korean

Log in to download a Bonus PDF Lesson

Why are we giving it away? Learning to read and write is a must for all beginners.
Although you get video lessons on how to write in Korean at KoreanClass101, you’ll still
need physical hangul worksheets to practice on. That’s why you’re getting this printable
Hangul Tutorial PDFs as a gift.

7. The Secret to Learning the Korean Alphabet

Fast
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Now, what if I told you you could learn the Korean symbols even faster?

To help you master hangul we created a series to introduce them and teach you a few
words you can write with these characters. Our video series gives you all the tips you
need to remember the Korean script. Have you heard of Mnemonics? Each character
has a memorable illustration that goes along with it, and it is an amazing method to
remember characters. We use this method to make things easier for you to memorize.
We also offer you interactive practice sections with Amy, our Korean host, to learn how
to perfectly write hangul without getting bored.

You’ll never ever have to worry again about how to read or write hangul. Not only will
you know the basics of Korean pronunciation but you’ll be able to identify a lot
of common Korean words used in everyday life. It’s the best way to get started learning
Korean.

Watch the first episode now and discover the secret to easily learning hangul in
few hours! You’ll able to practice your Korean wherever you want with our Flashcard
feature and Hangul Quiz that will allow you to master the alphabet through repetition.

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1. Select your Korean level and enter your email address on the form on the left.
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3. You’ll get a confirmation email. Please confirm by clicking the link inside.
4. Download your hangul book on this hangul page.
5. Start learning Korean with KoreanClass101 & your free eBook!

8. Hangul Quizzes
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Test yourself with our quizzes - hangul reading test & writing test. This hangul test is the perfect
way to help you practice hangul you still have difficulties with, as you select which one you need
to work on.

1. Hangul Basic Vowels - Reading | Writing

2. Hangul Basic Consonants - Reading | Writing
3. Basic Vowels and Consonants Review - Reading | Writing
4. Hangul Double Consonants - Reading | Writing
5. Hangul Bat-chim - Reading | Writing
6. Hangul Bat-chim Rules - Reading | Writing
7. Hangul Double Final Consonants - Reading | Writing
 8. Hangul Double Vowels - Reading | Writing
9. Hangul Final Review - Reading | Writing

Thank you for reading. 감사합니다 –It’s thank you in Korean. Good luck with your

Korean learning and let us know if you have any question.

9. Related Lessons
Top

In this video series, you will learn the Korean alphabet, known as Hangul. We will teach you
Hangul using simple steps, showing you the correct stroke order, helpful tricks for memorization,
and proper usage in common Korean words and phrases quickly and easily. If you want to get
started learning hangul, reading and writing Korean, this is THE place to start.

Go to Hangul Series
Want to learn Korean? Don’t know where to start? This is it. The Introduction to Korean Video
series is perfect for those who know zero Korean but want to take that first step. In this series,
you’ll learn all about the Korean language, as well as grammar, writing and phrases to get you
started.

Go to Introduction Series
Ready to sound like a native Korean speaker? Join Alisha and Ara in the Ultimate Korean
Pronunciation Series! You’ll learn the ins and outs of perfect Korean pronunciation. You’ll learn
the common mistakes learners make, how to avoid them, and the nuances that only native
speakers are aware of.

Go to Pronunciation Guide
Learn the basics you need to be polite while speaking Korean. Amy will take you step-by-step
through must-know phrases and explain the grammar and composition. Plus, you’ll get some
special tips on how to be extra authentic when interacting with native Korean speakers.

Go to 3 Minute Series

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