If you’ve ever wanted to sing
Korean songs,
write a letter in Korean, read Korean books, be able to get around in Korea, or just jump-start your Korean learning, you’re in the right place. Even if you’re an absolute beginner to Korean, by the time you’re done reading this article you’ll be able to
read and write Hangul like a pro — and you’ll get a feel for Korean culture and learn some
Korean vocabulary at the same time!
What is Hangul? What does hangul mean? Korean uses 한글 (Hangeul) or Hangul alphabet as its writing system. Some people think hangul means the Korean language but it’s the name of the Korean alphabet letters. 한 (han) means ‘Korean’ and 글 (geul) means ‘letter’. And ‘Korean language’ (specifically, South Korean language) in Korean is 한국어 (hangugeo).
The biggest strength of 한글 (Hangeul) is that it is very easy to learn how to read Korean and write Korean texts. There are many loan words in the Korean language that come from English, such as “taxi,” “bus,” “camera,” and so forth, so you will find yourself understanding the words in the signs or menus just by knowing how to read hangul, the Korean alphabet.
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.
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.
Writing in Korean
Introduction to Korean
Korean Pronunciation
Korean in 3 Minutes
