If you’re coming to Korea for the first time, the most important thing to do FIRST is learn the alphabet.
Even if you study absolutely no grammar or vocabulary, learning the alphabet is essential to your happiness and success in Korea. It’s also the easiest part of Korean to learn. You can learn the entire alphabet in a single afternoon (or in a single blog post!).
Overview
Letters
Hangul has a total of 24 basic letters (less than the English alphabet).
The 24 basic letters can combine to form 40 total letters (less than Japanese).
TOTAL (40): Basic letters (24) + Double letters (16)
Basic consonants:
Letter
English
Starting Consonant
Final Consonant
ㄱ
g/k
go (고), kimchi (김치)
luck/lug (럭)
ㄴ
n
no (노)
noon (눈)
ㄷ
d
dot (닷)
good (굳)
ㄹ
l (r)
lemon (레몬)
bowl (볼)
ㅁ
m
man (맨)
mom (맘)
ㅂ
b/p (v)
big (빅), Visa (비자)
bob/bop (밥)
ㅅ
s
sun (선)
dot (닷)
ㅇ
-/ng
---
young (영)
ㅈ
j (z)
jam (잼), zero (재로)
dot (닷)
ㅊ
ch
chair (체어)
dot (닷)
ㅋ
kk
Korea (코리아)
luck (렄)
ㅌ
t
tire (타이어)
dot (닷)
ㅍ
p (f)
pan, fan (팬)
pop (팦)
ㅎ
h
haha (하하)
*
*ㅎ: When in the final consonant position of one syllable, the sound carries over to the following syllable and aspirates it. For example:
ㄱ (g) → ㅋ (kk)
ㄷ (d) → ㅌ (t)
ㅂ (b) → ㅍ (p)
ㅈ (j) → ㅊ (ch)
Basic vowels:
Letter
English
Example
ㅏ
ah
haha (하하)
ㅑ
ya
Yahoo (야후)
ㅓ
uh
upset (업셋)
ㅕ
yeo
young (영)
ㅗ
oh
go (고)
ㅛ
yo
yo-yo (요요)
ㅜ
ooo
noon (눈)
ㅠ
you
you (유)
ㅡ
...e-uh...
put (픗)
ㅣ
ee
see (시)
Double consonants:
Letter
English
Starting Consonant
Final Consonant
ㄲ
strong g
go! (꼬)
rug (럮)
ㄸ
strong d
die! (따이)
---
ㅃ
strong b
ball! (빨)
---
ㅆ
strong s/sh
she! (씨)
dot (닸)
ㅉ
strong j/z
pizza! (피짜)
---
*There are additionally a few other double consonants like 읽 and 없 but you can learn those as you come to them.
Double vowels:
Letter
English
Example
ㅐ
eh*
men (맨)
ㅒ
yeh+
yeah (얘)
ㅔ
eh*
men (멘)
ㅖ
yeh+
yeah (예)
ㅘ
wah
Hawaii (하와이)
ㅙ
way~
way (왜)
ㅝ
wuh
war (워)
ㅞ
way~
way (웨)
ㅚ
way~
way (외)
ㅟ
we
we (위)
ㅢ
...e-uh..ee...
**
*ㅐ and ㅔ are nearly indistinguishable
+ ㅒ and ㅖ also sound the same
~ ㅙ, ㅞ, and ㅚ are also hard to tell apart
** There is no English equivalent for ㅢ. It is pronounced by combining those two vowels together “…e-uh…ee.” (Although in some cases and dialects it is pronounced as ㅔ or ㅖ as in 나의 = “na-yay” or 그들의 = “ke-dul-ay”.)
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Learn How to Read ANYTHING in Korea by Learning Hangul
If you're coming to Korea for the first time, the most important thing to do FIRST is learn the alphabet.
Even if you study absolutely no grammar or vocabulary, learning the alphabet is essential to your happiness and success in Korea. It's also the easiest part of Korean to learn. You can learn the entire alphabet in a single afternoon (or in a single blog post!).
ALL Beginner Class Vocabulary in Anki(Droid) Language Packs
Here is the complete collection of vocabulary papers from the Beginner Class (including the first 200 words in the True Beginner class). Supplementary vocabulary is not included here, so the total amount of vocabulary contained here is 900 words. FULLContinue reading FULL Beginner Class Vocabulary List
Thanks, but it’s not one I designed. I merely linked to a great resource that someone else designed. Please check out their page at: http://www.aboutletters.com/ You can also order this periodic table as a PRINT ($14.99) if you want to have a copy at home! (Shipping only in the US)
Hi Aaron. I’m Choi who are promoting Korea to foreigners who live in Korea.
Can I refer to your explanation of Korean language to teach them Hangul?
Can I use your document on this page including images?
Your explanation is really great and you are not Korea. That’s why your document will be helpful for people who want to learn Hangul.
I learned reading hangul characters and was also able to write and read it with no problem at all. Now, I want to learn more about Korean language as it is fun and challenging.
I am a beginner in Korean. Your periodic table is great. Thank you.
Thanks, but it’s not one I designed. I merely linked to a great resource that someone else designed. Please check out their page at: http://www.aboutletters.com/ You can also order this periodic table as a PRINT ($14.99) if you want to have a copy at home! (Shipping only in the US)
Hi Arron! Just one thing to edit! 뛰어쓰기 -> 띄어쓰기
Sorry Aaron! I misspelled your name. lol
Thanks. It’s corrected and don’t worry about my name misspelling. It happens all the time.
Hi Aaron. I’m Choi who are promoting Korea to foreigners who live in Korea.
Can I refer to your explanation of Korean language to teach them Hangul?
Can I use your document on this page including images?
Your explanation is really great and you are not Korea. That’s why your document will be helpful for people who want to learn Hangul.
Thank you
Sure thing. Thanks for the comment!
Very easy to learn this way! Thanks a lot!
Glad to help!
I learned reading hangul characters and was also able to write and read it with no problem at all. Now, I want to learn more about Korean language as it is fun and challenging.