Before we get into the actual writing of Korean characters, called Hangeul, lets take a quick look at the alphabet as a whole (if you’re looking for a free, downloadable Korean pronunciation chart,
click here).
As you can see from the chart below, the Korean alphabet has 14 consonants, 5 double consonants, 10 vowels, and 11 diphthongs (diphthongs are sounds created by combining two vowels).
You don’t need to memorize this chart. Just have a look, get a general feel for what you’re about to learn, and then go on to step 2, How to Write Hangeul.
| letter | English Sound | Letter | English Sound |
ㄲ
| G (Strong) | K |
ㅖ
| as in YET |
ㄸ
| D (Strong) | T (strong) |
ㅘ
| as in WASH |
ㅃ
| B (Strong) | P (strong |
ㅙ
| as in WAITER |
ㅆ
| S (strong) |
T
|
ㅚ
| as in WAIT |
ㅉ
| J (strong) | T |
ㅝ
| as in WONDER |
Korean is read from left to right, just like in English. Unlike English, however, Korean is written in blocks. Each block has
- a minimum of two letters (one consonant and one vowel)
- and a maximum of three letters (two consonants and one vowel).
- The letters in a block can be arranged in one of three ways.
There can be a consonant and a vowel next to each other, like this…
There can be a consonant and a vowel with the consonant on top of the vowel, like this…
Or, there can be a consonant + a vowel next to it + another consonant on bottom, like this…
When writing hanguel (and Chinese characters as well) it is important to use the correct order. Here’s how it’s done for the 14 Korean consonants!
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