Letters

1. Hangul has a total of 24 basic letters (less than the English alphabet).
2. The 24 basic letters can combine to form 40 total letters (less than Japanese).
3. Hangul consists of consonants and vowels (like English).
4. Because it is an alphabet, Hangul has an alphabetical order (shown below – it’s
useful to learn for using dictionaries).

Syllables
1. The consonants and vowels are arranged into syllable blocks (with up to 3-4 letters
per block).
2. Syllable blocks of letters arranged together form words and spaces (띄어쓰기)
separate words.
3. Every syllable block begins with a consonant.
4. The empty consonant ㅇ is used for words that begin with vowel sounds.

Pronunciation
1. The final consonant in a syllable block is called the “padt-chim” (받침).
2. The 받침’s sound carries over into the next syllable IF the next syllable starts with
a vowel sound (empty consonant ㅇ).

Writing
1. Hangul is written from LEFT → RIGHT and from TOP → BOTTOM.
2. Vertical vowels go to the right of the consonant; horizontal vowels go under the
consonant.
Vertical Vowels 아야어여이애얘에예

Horizontal Vowels 오요우유으

History
1. Hangul was developed by King Sejong and a group of scholars beginning in 1443.
 2. It was introduced to the people in 1446 to replace Chinese writing and improve
literacy in Korea.
3. It is widely acclaimed by linguists around the world as an ingenious invention.

The Alphabet
 Basic consonants (14): ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ
 Basic vowels (10): ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ
 Double consonants (5): ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ
 Double vowels (11): ㅐ ㅔ ㅒ ㅖ ㅘ ㅙ ㅝ ㅞ ㅚ ㅟ ㅢ
 TOTAL (40): Basic letters (24) + Double letters (16)

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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)

Letter English Example

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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Basic Conjugation according to Politeness Level
Usage
1. Formal Polite language is usually spoken to people who are older than you or in a
higher position of authority.
2. Informal Polite language is used simply as common politeness to all people.
3. Casual Speech is used among friends, close relatives, and to those who are
younger than you.

Questions
1. Formal Polite: ends in ~(스)ㅂ니까?
2. Informal Polite: ends in ~아/어요?
3. Casual Speech: ends with the word stem and rising intonation.

Examples:

1. FP: Are you watching a movie? = 영화를 봅니까?

2. IP: Will you go to school? = 학교에 가요?
3. CS: Do you want to eat lunch? = 점심 먹어?

Statements/Answers
1. Formal Polite: ends in ~(스)ㅂ니다.
2. Informal Polite: ends in ~아/어요.
3. Casual Speech: ends with merely the word stem.

Examples: 

1. FP: Yes, I’m watching a movie. = 네, 영화를 봅니다.

2. IP: No, I’m not going to school. = 아니요, 학교에 안 가요.
3. CS: I already ate. = 먹었어.