Korean Alphabet Part 1: Learn to Read Korean in a Day

If you have landed on this page, you obviously have some interest in the Korean language.  

You can begin learning the Korean alphabet in a short lesson. This article introduces the basic letters and simple syllable blocks; accurate pronunciation will take listening and practice.

Are you up for the challenge?

A Bit of History

Hangul (also spelled Hangeul) was created under King Sejong in 1443 and introduced in 1446 through the Hunminjeongeum. It originally had 28 letters. Before Hangul, writing in Korea relied heavily on Chinese characters and systems adapted from them, which required substantial study.

The five basic consonant shapes reflect the speech organs used to make their sounds. Other consonants were derived from these shapes. The original basic vowel symbols represented heaven, earth, and a person; not every letter was modeled on the mouth.

Hangul Day is celebrated on October 9 in South Korea. One purpose of the new script was to give people a more accessible way to write their own language. See the National Hangeul Museum’s introduction for the historical background.

Hangul (Korean Alphabet System)

Modern Hangul has 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels. Learners also study five doubled consonants and eleven additional vowel combinations, making 40 commonly taught letter forms. These modern counts should not be confused with the original 28 letters.

Korean and English have different sound systems. For example, modern Korean does not have separate native consonant sounds corresponding exactly to English /f/, /v/, and /z/; loanwords adapt such sounds.

Here are the 24 basic characters in Hangul:

Consonants

ㄱ   ㄴ ㄷ   ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ   ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ   ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ

Vowels

ㅏ   ㅑ ㅓ   ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ   ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ

These are the basic letters. You will also need to learn how letters form syllable blocks and how their sounds change in context. The tables use Revised Romanization, which is not an exact English pronunciation guide.

Here are the consonants:

Korean Consonants

Note: At the start of a syllable block, ㅇ is a silent placeholder before the vowel, as in 아 or 오. At the end of a syllable, it represents an “ng” sound, as in 강.

The sound of ㄹ depends on its position. Between vowels it is usually a quick tap, somewhat like the American English “t” in “butter.” At the end of a syllable or in ㄹㄹ, it has an l-like sound. Do not pronounce every ㄹ as an English “r,” or every ㄹ as a tap.

And now the vowels:

Korean Vowels

The ten basic vowel letters have systematic shapes. The historical design also used a dot, ㆍ, which is not a separate vowel letter in modern standard Korean.

Notice that among these vowels, there are vowels that are vertical (ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ,  ㅣ) and vowels that are horizontal (ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ). You need to remember when combining:  vertical vowels are added to the right of the consonant, and the horizontal vowels are added below the consonant.

Another thing to note about the vowels:  When there are two smaller lines connected to the longer line (ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ), they begin with a y-like glide: ya, yeo, yo, yu.

Let’s try combining the consonants and vowels:

In this manner, you can write numerous Korean words with the basic 24 characters.

Let’s try reading some simple Korean words:

Reading practice

See how easy that was?

Now, let’s see if you can try to pronounce the following few words without the romanization. Feel free to refer to the charts above:

구두 (dress shoes)    두부 (tofu) 나무 (tree)   포도 (grapes) 사자 (lion)

You have now practiced reading some simple Korean syllables. Check your pronunciation against recordings as you continue.

In the next article, I will go over the additional 16 characters in the alphabet. If you practice and become familiar with the ones I already covered, learning the others will be much easier for you. Learning the letters is the first step. Pronouncing unfamiliar words correctly also requires sound-change rules and listening practice.

Comprehension will come later as you learn more vocabulary and grammar.

Conclusion

Learning a new language is not an easy task.  It requires will and dedication. Immersion can provide many opportunities to practice, although it does not guarantee fluency within a fixed time. My own immersion experience was with English.

I moved to the U.S. with my parents at the age of 12 and lived in a town where there were no other Asians, let alone Koreans. I was also forbidden to speak Korean at home.  I had no choice but to learn English very quickly, and I became fluent within 2 years. Your circumstances and pace may be different, but regular exposure and practice can help.

When learning a new language, you need to be diligent about practicing every single day.  I always say that the three most important things you need to do to retain what you learn are:

• 1Repetition
• 2Repetition
• 3Repetition

And take advantage of every opportunity to hear the language spoken.  Watch the K-dramas. Listen to K-pop.  As you learn more, try to pick out the words that you recognize when you hear them.  Try to mimic what they say and how they say it.  

I know that with just a little effort to practice and review every day, you will progress quickly!  Be patient and gradually increase your vocabulary. I’m rooting for you!   

If you have any comments,  questions, or need any information clarified, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.