What is Hangul?
Hangul, the Korean alphabet, is a unique and scientifically designed writing system. Consisting of 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels, Hangul is famous for its simplicity and efficiency.
Each character is a combination of these basic elements, forming syllabic blocks that represent individual sounds. The consonants’ shapes reflect the articulatory features of the sounds they represent, while the vowels consist of horizontal or vertical lines and dots.
FYI: King Sejong the Great and his scholars created Hangul in the 15th century.
Here’s a breakdown of how they work.
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Hangul Consonants
There are 14 basic consonants in Hangul:
- ㄱ – 기역 (giyeok): ㄱ sounds “g” as in girl, game, and great.*
- ㄴ – 니은 (nieun): ㄴ sounds “n” as in nothing, north, and need.
- ㄷ – 디귿 (digeut): ㄷ sounds “d” as in dot, door, and dream.
- ㄹ – 리을 (rieul): ㄹ sounds “r” or “l” as in real, lion, and red.**
- ㅁ – 미음 (mieum): ㅁ sounds “m” as in music, mom, and meet.
- ㅂ – 비읍 (bieup): ㅂ sounds “b” as in bed, broom, and build.***
- ㅅ – 시옷 (siot): ㅅ sounds “s” as in south, spring, and sound.
- ㅇ – 이응 (ieung): ㅇ has two different sounds depending on its position within a syllable. You don’t have to understand them now. It would make more sense when we talk about the whole syllable later.
- Silent Placeholder (Initial Position): When ㅇ is used as the initial consonant in a syllable, it is silent. It acts as a placeholder to fill the consonant slot, allowing the vowel to be pronounced. For example, 아 /a/: Here, ㅇ is silent, and only the vowel ㅏ /a/ is pronounced.
- Ng Sound (Final Position): When ㅇ is used as the final consonant in a syllable, it is pronounced as “ng,” similar to the final sound in the English word “long.” For example, 강 /gang/: Here, ㅇ is pronounced as “ng,” following the vowel ㅏ /a/ and the consonant ㄱ /g/.
- ㅈ – 지읒 (jieut): ㅈ sounds “j” as in just, jump, and jet.
- ㅊ – 치읓 (chieut): ㅊ sounds “ch” as in church, chair, and champion.
- ㅋ – 키읔 (kieuk): ㅋ sounds “k” as in Korea, kind, and kids.
- ㅌ – 티읕 (tieut): ㅌ sounds “t” as in travel, trip, and tap.
- ㅍ – 피읖 (pieup): ㅍ sounds “p” as in play, pen, and pin.
- ㅎ – 히읗 (hieut): ㅎ sounds “h” as in house, hold, and happy.
* You might see the consonant ㄱ represented as “k” sound in some places, but ㄱ never actually sounds like “k.” Therefore, although we can’t change it now, 김치 should not have been written as Kimchi in the first place. Its pronunciation should be /gim-chi/.
** In Korean pronunciation, there is no distinct difference between “r” and “l”. The consonant ㄹ can sound more like “r” or “l” depending on its position. For now, don’t worry too much about it.
*** ㅂ has the same issue as ㄱ: it never sounds like “p”, although you may see it marked as such. The most famous example is 부산, which was written as Pusan for a long time, leading people to pronounce it 푸산 instead of 부산. Fortunately, Busan is now the official spelling. Pusanpedia would be very wrong.
In addition, there are double consonants and pronunciation of some consonants can change when they are in the final position or 받침 /bat-chim/. We will cover them later. Let’s learn one thing at a time.
Watch YouTube Clip for Pronunciation of the Consonants with Example Words
Hangul Vowels
1. Basic Vowels
There are 10 basic vowels in Hangul:
- ㅏ sounds /ah/ as in party, father, and harmony.
- ㅑ sounds /ya/ as in yard, yarn, and yahoo.
- ㅓ sounds /eo/ as in earth, search, and circle.
- ㅕ sounds /yeo/ as in yummy, yuppie, and yuk.
- ㅗ sounds /o/ as in song, long, and morning.
- ㅛ sounds /yo/ New York and Yorkshire.
- ㅜ sounds /u/ as look, good, and book.*
- ㅠ sounds /yu/ as in you, dew, and few.
- ㅡ sounds /eu/ as bring, dream, and price.**
- ㅣ sounds /i/ as in international, initial, and illusion.
* In many Korean language resources and Romanizations, it is marked as /u/, similar to the sound in rude. However, I think it would be safer to represent the ㅜ sound as /oo/.
** ㅡ is marked as /eu/, but it is again more for Romanization purposes. It sounds like the first syllabus of example words, bring, dream, and price.
2. Double Vowels
Double vowels in the Korean alphabet were originally formed by combining two basic vowels. Today only the following 11 double vowels are used. Some of them sound virtually the same, but as your Korean improves, you’ll be able to distinguish them more easily based on context.
Watch YouTube Clip for Pronunciation of the Vowels with Example Words
Combining Korean Consonants and Vowels
Hangul syllables are formed by combining at least one consonant and one vowel. Each syllable block can have up to three parts: an initial consonant (초성 /cho-seong/), a medial vowel (중성 /jung-seong/), and an optional final consonant (종성 /jong-seong/).
- Initial Consonant (초성): The syllable starts with a consonant.
- Medial Vowel (중성): Next comes the vowel, which can be placed to the right, below, or both right and below the initial consonant.
- Final Consonant (종성) (optional): Some syllables include a final consonant, placed at the bottom.
Examples:
- 나 /na/: ㄴ (initial consonant) + ㅏ (vowel)
- 강 /gang/: ㄱ (initial consonant) + ㅏ (vowel) + ㅇ (final consonant)
- 눈 /nun/: ㄴ (initial consonant) + ㅜ (vowel) + ㄴ (final consonant)
- 황 /hwang/: ㄴ (initial consonant) + ㅘ (vowel – double vowel) + ㅇ (final consonant)
Structure:
- Vertical Arrangement: When the vowel is a vertical line (ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅣ), it goes to the right of the initial consonant. For example, 더 /deo/, 자 /ja/
- Horizontal Arrangement: When the vowel is a horizontal line (ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ), it goes below the initial consonant. For example: 부 /bu/, 모 /mo/
Hangul’s design makes it easy to learn and use, enabling efficient reading and writing. It may take some time to get used to it, but once you are familiar with Hangul’s consonants and vowels, it shouldn’t be hard to start writing in Korean.
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About Author
Young Yang, a native Korean, has lived in South Korea for over 30 years. With a wealth of experience, he brings a unique perspective to those eager to explore and understand the rich tapestry of South Korea’s culture, history, and language. Read his full bio.
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