Learn the Korean Alphabet

한글

Learn to read the Korean Alphabet (한글): all 40 letters with names, sounds and audio, plus flashcards, listening, typing and matching practice.

Letter	Name	Latin letters	Sound
ㄱ	giyeok	g / k	Between g in go and k in skip: no puff of air. Sounds like g between vowels, k at the end of a syllable.
ㄴ	nieun	n	n as in no.
ㄷ	digeut	d / t	Between d in do and t in stop: no puff of air. Sounds like d between vowels, t at the end of a syllable.
ㄹ	rieul	r / l	A quick tongue tap like the tt in American better; at the end of a syllable it becomes l.
ㅁ	mieum	m	m as in mom.
ㅂ	bieup	b / p	Between b in bed and p in spin: no puff of air. Sounds like b between vowels, p at the end of a syllable.
ㅅ	siot	s	s as in sun; closer to sh before i (시 = shi).
ㅇ	ieung	ng (silent at start)	Silent at the start of a syllable, where it just holds a place before the vowel. At the end of a syllable it is ng as in sing.
ㅈ	jieut	j	Between j in jam and ch in itch, with no puff of air.
ㅊ	chieut	ch	ch as in church, with a strong puff of air.
ㅋ	kieuk	k	k as in kite, with a strong puff of air.
ㅌ	tieut	t	t as in top, with a strong puff of air.
ㅍ	pieup	p	p as in pie, with a strong puff of air.
ㅎ	hieut	h	h as in hat.
ㄲ	ssanggiyeok	kk	Tense k: like the k in skin, said with a tight throat and no puff of air.
ㄸ	ssangdigeut	tt	Tense t: like the t in stop, said with a tight throat and no puff of air.
ㅃ	ssangbieup	pp	Tense p: like the p in spin, said with tight lips and throat and no puff of air.
ㅆ	ssangsiot	ss	Tense s: a sharp, hard hiss, like a firmly stressed s in sea.
ㅉ	ssangjieut	jj	Tense j: like the j in jam said with a tight throat and no puff of air.
ㅏ	a	a	a as in father.
ㅐ	ae	ae	e as in bed, a little more open. Most Seoul speakers say it the same as ㅔ.
ㅑ	ya	ya	ya as in yacht.
ㅒ	yae	yae	ye as in yes. Rare; usually sounds the same as ㅖ.
ㅓ	eo	eo	Like the u in cup or o in son, jaw dropped and lips relaxed.
ㅔ	e	e	e as in bed. Most Seoul speakers say it the same as ㅐ.
ㅕ	yeo	yeo	Like the yu in yummy.
ㅖ	ye	ye	ye as in yes.
ㅗ	o	o	o as in go, but pure: lips rounded, no w glide at the end.
ㅘ	wa	wa	wa as in wander.
ㅙ	wae	wae	we as in wet. Often sounds the same as ㅚ and ㅞ.
ㅚ	oe	oe	Today usually like we in wet; originally a rounded e like German ö.
ㅛ	yo	yo	yo as in yoga.
ㅜ	u	u	oo as in moon.
ㅝ	wo	wo	Like the wo in won (wuh).
ㅞ	we	we	we as in wet.
ㅟ	wi	wi	Like wee.
ㅠ	yu	yu	Like you.
ㅡ	eu	eu	Like the oo in good, but with lips spread flat as if smiling.
ㅢ	ui	ui	eu gliding into ee. In everyday speech often just ee, or e when it means of.
ㅣ	i	i	ee as in see.

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