Korean Alphabet Chart (Hangul)
Hangul has 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels, plus 5 double consonants and 11 compound vowels — 40 letters in all. Letters are grouped into syllable blocks: ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ = 한 (han). Tap any letter below to hear it.
Korean consonants
| Letter | Name | Sound | Example |
|---|
| ㄱ | 기역 giyeok | g / k | 가방 gabang – bag |
| ㄴ | 니은 nieun | n | 나무 namu – tree |
| ㄷ | 디귿 digeut | d / t | 다리 dari – leg; bridge |
| ㄹ | 리을 rieul | r / l | 라면 ramyeon – ramen |
| ㅁ | 미음 mieum | m | 물 mul – water |
| ㅂ | 비읍 bieup | b / p | 바다 bada – sea |
| ㅅ | 시옷 siot | s / t | 사과 sagwa – apple |
| ㅇ | 이응 ieung | (silent) / ng | 우유 uyu – milk |
| ㅈ | 지읒 jieut | j / t | 자동차 jadongcha – car |
| ㅊ | 치읓 chieut | ch / t | 친구 chingu – friend |
| ㅋ | 키읔 kieuk | k | 커피 keopi – coffee |
| ㅌ | 티읕 tieut | t | 토끼 tokki – rabbit |
| ㅍ | 피읖 pieup | p | 포도 podo – grapes |
| ㅎ | 히읗 hieut | h / t | 하나 hana – one |
| ㄲ | 쌍기역 ssanggiyeok | kk | 꽃 kkot – flower |
| ㄸ | 쌍디귿 ssangdigeut | tt | 딸기 ttalgi – strawberry |
| ㅃ | 쌍비읍 ssangbieup | pp | 빵 ppang – bread |
| ㅆ | 쌍시옷 ssangsiot | ss | 쌀 ssal – rice (uncooked) |
| ㅉ | 쌍지읒 ssangjieut | jj | 짜다 jjada – salty |
Where two sounds are shown, the first is used before a vowel and the second at the end of a syllable (밥 (bap): ㅂ is b first and p at the end).
Korean vowels
| Letter | Sound | Example |
|---|
| ㅏ | a | 아이 ai – child |
| ㅑ | ya | 야구 yagu – baseball |
| ㅓ | eo | 어머니 eomeoni – mother |
| ㅕ | yeo | 여자 yeoja – woman |
| ㅗ | o | 오이 oi – cucumber |
| ㅛ | yo | 요리 yori – cooking |
| ㅜ | u | 우유 uyu – milk |
| ㅠ | yu | 유리 yuri – glass |
| ㅡ | eu | 음악 eumak – music |
| ㅣ | i | 이름 ireum – name |
| ㅐ | ae | 개 gae – dog |
| ㅒ | yae | 얘기 yaegi – talk, story |
| ㅔ | e | 게 ge – crab |
| ㅖ | ye | 예 ye – yes |
| ㅘ | wa | 과일 gwail – fruit |
| ㅙ | wae | 왜 wae – why |
| ㅚ | oe | 회사 hoesa – company |
| ㅝ | wo | 원 won – won (money) |
| ㅞ | we | 웨이터 weiteo – waiter |
| ㅟ | wi | 귀 gwi – ear |
| ㅢ | ui | 의사 uisa – doctor |
How Hangul syllables are built
Korean is not written one letter after another like English. Letters are stacked into square blocks, one block per syllable. Each block has a consonant first, then a vowel, and sometimes a final consonant underneath (called 받침, batchim).
- Tall vowels (ㅏ ㅓ ㅣ…) go to the right of the consonant: ㄴ + ㅏ = 나.
- Flat vowels (ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ…) go under it: ㄴ + ㅗ = 노.
- A final consonant goes at the bottom: ㄴ + ㅏ + ㅁ = 남.
- A syllable that starts with a vowel uses the silent ㅇ: ㅇ + ㅏ = 아.
So 한국 (Korea) is two blocks: ㅎ+ㅏ+ㄴ and ㄱ+ㅜ+ㄱ. Use the syllable table above to see every consonant joined with every basic vowel.
Plain, aspirated and tense consonants
Several consonants come in sets of three. English speakers hear the plain and tense ones as almost the same, so practice them side by side:
| Plain (soft) | Aspirated (puff of air) | Tense (tight, no air) |
|---|
| ㄱ | ㅋ | ㄲ |
| ㄷ | ㅌ | ㄸ |
| ㅂ | ㅍ | ㅃ |
| ㅈ | ㅊ | ㅉ |
| ㅅ | — | ㅆ |
A classic test is 달 (dal) (moon), 탈 (tal) (mask) and 딸 (ttal) (daughter). Hold a sheet of paper in front of your mouth: it should move for 탈 but not for 딸.
Only seven sounds at the end of a syllable
Many consonants can be written as a final consonant, but they are pronounced as only seven sounds: k, n, t, l, m, p, ng. That is why 옷 (clothes), 옫 and 옻 all sound like ot. When the next syllable starts with a vowel, the final consonant moves over and is heard clearly: 옷이 (osi).
Why the letters look the way they do
Hangul was designed, not borrowed. The basic consonants picture the mouth: ㄱ shows the back of the tongue touching the soft palate, ㄴ the tongue tip touching the gum ridge, ㅁ the closed lips, ㅅ a tooth and ㅇ the throat. Adding a stroke makes a stronger sound (ㄱ → ㅋ, ㄴ → ㄷ → ㅌ). The vowels are built from three symbols: a dot for heaven, a flat line ㅡ for earth and a standing line ㅣ for people.
Frequently asked questions
How many letters are in the Korean alphabet?
Modern Hangul has 24 basic letters: 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Adding the 5 double consonants (ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ) and 11 compound vowels (ㅐ ㅔ ㅘ ㅢ…) gives the 40 letters in the chart above.
How long does it take to learn Hangul?
Most people can learn to read Hangul letter by letter in a few hours to a couple of days, because each letter has one main sound and the shapes follow a system. Reading quickly and knowing the sound-change rules takes longer — practice with the quiz above until the letters feel automatic.
Why is ㅇ silent?
Every Korean syllable block starts with a consonant. When a syllable begins with a vowel sound, ㅇ fills the empty consonant spot and is not pronounced: 아 (a), 우유 (uyu). At the end of a syllable ㅇ is pronounced ng: 강 (gang).
Is there a difference between ㅐ and ㅔ?
In writing, yes: 개 (dog) and 게 (crab) are different words. In speech, most younger speakers in Seoul pronounce them the same, like the e in “bed”. Learn each word's spelling; you do not need to make two sounds.
What is the Korean alphabet order?
Dictionaries in South Korea sort consonants as ㄱ ㄲ ㄴ ㄷ ㄸ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅃ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅉ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ and vowels as ㅏ ㅐ ㅑ ㅒ ㅓ ㅔ ㅕ ㅖ ㅗ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅛ ㅜ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅢ ㅣ. Koreans often call this order 가나다 (ganada), like “ABC”.
Who invented Hangul?
King Sejong the Great and his scholars created it in 1443 and published it in 1446 as 훈민정음 (“the correct sounds to teach the people”). South Korea celebrates Hangul Day, 한글날, on October 9.