Learn Basic Hangul—The Korean Alphabet is Simpler than You Might Think

Hangul (한글) is the alphabet of the Korean language. It is surprisingly simple and logical, making it easy to learn. Just like our alphabet, it comprises of vowels and consonants—24 basic unit characters total. The shapes of the characters are based on the biological phonetics behind each of the sounds used in Korean speech.

Vowels and Consonants Are Slight Variations on Each Other

Each of the basic vowels of Hangul comes in two forms: one is just the vowel sound on its own, while the other begins with a “y” sound. For example, “a” is written “아” and “ya” is denoted by “야.” The other basic vowels represent “eo,” “yeo,” “o,” “yo,” “u,” “yu,” “i,” and “eu.”

listen to ‘Korean vowels’ on audioBoom

The consonants also comprise of base forms and their more strongly-emphasized modifications. For instance, ᄀ represents a hard “g” sound, but add an extra line to the character, and it becomes ᄏ, a “k” sound. ᄃ (“d”) also becomes ᄐ (“t”), and ᄇ (“b”) becomes ᄑ (“p”). ᄉ (“s”) can be modified to ᄌ (“j”), which can further become ᄎ (“ch”). Finally, add some air behind the ᄋ (a placeholder when it appears at the beginning of a syllable; in other words, it represents an absence of initial consonant sound) and you get ᄒ (“h”).

listen to ‘Korean consonants’ on audioBoom

Putting it All Together: Letters Make Syllables Make Words

Korean words are written syllable by syllable. A single syllable contains at least an initial consonant and a vowel following it, and sometimes one or two ending consonants after the vowel. Each syllable is read left to right and then top to bottom. Syllables are then strung together into words, which are themselves read left to right and then top to bottom, just like in English. For example, 안녕, which means "hi," is read an-nyeong. Similarly, the word for "forty," 마흔, is read ma-heun.

With Korean pop culture's growing importance in the international spotlight, being able to recognize and even decipher Hangul can be a useful skill to learn, and fun to boot. Sites like this Korean keyboard allow leisure language aficionados to play with the Korean language on their own time and in an interactive, creative way.