How To Learn Korean Alphabet

Learning Korean? No wonder!

We all call up when the song "Gangnam Fashion" exploded onto the world phase. It became the beginning YouTube video to reach one billion views.

Since so, nosotros've all been riding the M-moving ridge (Korean Wave). From kimchi to Thousand-drama and BTS and everything else we now see everyday, you can at present find $.25 of Korean culture everywhere.

What ties all of these fantastic things together? The Korean linguistic communication. And though Asian languages are mostly considered some trickiest for English language speakers, Korean has a hidden clandestine.

Unlike Japanese and Chinese, which have thousands of characters you have to memorize, Korean has a elementary alphabet called Hangul (prounced "Hahn" "Gul").

Hangul consists of just 24 letters—two fewer than the English alphabet. That means, even if you don't empathise what things mean, you tin can learn to read it easily. Some people even master it in just a few hours!

In this post, you're going to discover the delightfully simple Korean alphabet. Forget the stress and get ready to read and write the Korean alphabet like a pro in no time.

Past the way, if yous want to learn Korean fast and accept fun while doing information technology, my tiptop recommendation isKorean Uncovered which teaches you through my fun, unique and effective StoryLearning® method.

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A Little Background On The Korean Alphabet

"A wise man can acquaint himself with them before the forenoon is over; fifty-fifty a stupid homo can learn them in the infinite of ten days." -a common saying near Hangul

Before Hangul, the Korean alphabet used Chinese characters. That meant merely a small portion of the Korean population could acquire to read and write.

Merely in 1446, King Sejong the Slap-up personally invented Hangul then that everybody could learn these vital skills. And it worked!

Korea became i of the most literate countries in the globe. In fact, it's so effective that it's now used to preserve other languages that had formerly merely been spoken.

"Hangul" literally translates equally "Korean Letter" coming from the words "Han" (Korean) and "Gul" (Letter of the alphabet).

Bones Facts Nigh The Korean Alphabet

I of the things you'll appreciate most about Korean is that the letters all have a distinct sound. None of them have multiple pronunciations like they do in English.

What does that mean? Call back well-nigh the letter of the alphabet "C" in English. It tin audio like "True cat" or "CEREAL" And that's only the outset. You tin probably think of ten other letters or words that don't make sense right off the height of your head. What's up with "G"? G for "Giraffe" and "Golf." It's enough to make your caput spin!

In Korean, on the other hand, each alphabetic character of the alphabet represents a single sound. So, for example, Korean has ane letter of the alphabet for S (equally in Swim) – "ㅅ" – and anytime you see this letter of the alphabet information technology will always represent the same sound! Piece of cake, right?!

The same goes with every other Korean letter. Someday you see information technology, you can always expect to for it to make the same sound.

To assistance you become more than familiar with the Korean alphabet and how it sounds, nosotros're going to takes look at the beginning three messages. In the same way, we say "ABC," to refer to the English language alphabet, Koreans say "ga," "na," "da."

ㄱ "1000" every bit gold.
ㄴ "north" as in "nancy."
ㄷ "d" equally in "canis familiaris"

Non and so hard, right? You do demand to proceed in mind the manner nosotros translate between the Korean alphabet and English letters isn't perfect.

Call back of information technology more every bit a guide than a perfect representation. Be certain to listen carefully as there are subtleties in how you lot pronounce each letter.

Korean Consonants

You might be wondering why do Koreans say "Ga, Na, Da," even though the messages just have a "M," "N," and "D" audio. That's because you cannot write a consonant by itself in Korean.

Consonants always need a vowel pair. That's why the alphabet goes "Ga," "Na," "Da" because you lot add the vowel "ㅏ" (a every bit in "ah") to the consonant making information technology "가나다" or "Ga, Na, Da."

Let'south practise a few times. What sounds do these make? (Call back: G = ㄱ, North = ㄴ, D = ㄷ and "ah" = ㅏ).

Here are the answers:

1000 as in "aureate"
N as "Nancy"
D as "canis familiaris"
Ah
Ga
Na
Da
Ga
Da
Na

Before moving on, practice this a few times until you become the hang of it. Pay attention to how the letters look. Information technology can be a fiddling tricky at first, but you'll chief it in no time!

In that location's i more thing yous should know about Korean correct from the start. Unlike Chinese, Thai, and many other Asian languages, Korean is Non tonal. That means it'due south much more forgiving with pronunciation.

Information technology's yet some other way Korean is one of the easiest Asian languages to learn.

How Many Letters Are There?

Korean has 24 letters in total:

xiv consonant messages (ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ)
x vowel letters (ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ)

Keep These Additional Messages On Your Radar

Korean really does have 24 letters. But information technology has a few bonus ones that come from combining certain letters together into one.

These are double consonants and mixed vowels which yous'll come across as you start reading more words. But they're not difficult at all. In fact, the more than you lot become familiar with the Korean alphabet, the more than you'll see but how much they all make sense.

Korean Double Consonants

All double consonants make a potent consonants audio. All you practise is put extra emphasis on the original consonant. Recollect of it like "BAnk" instead of "banking company." As your practice, you'll hear the subtle difference between single and double consonants.

ㄲ = strong g like "gate" or "get"
ㄸ = strong d like "dog" or "day"
ㅃ= potent b like "depository financial institution"
ㅆ= stiff s like "snake"
ㅉ= strong j similar j "John"

1 famous give-and-take with a double consonant you might even know already is "Jjajang myeon" (pronounced JAH-jang myeon). It's a very pop Korean noodle dish.

Mixed Vowels & Consonants In Korean

Korean also has some mixed vowels and consonants. These form when you put certain sounds together. Say everything very slowly to yourself and you'll hear how the sounds come together.

ㅐ sounds like ae as in "24-hour interval"
- With ㅐ, yous combine ㅏ(a) plus ㅣ(e) to make ㅐ(ae).
ㅒ sounds yae as in "yay"
- With ㅐ, you combine ㅑ(ya) plus ㅣ(e) to make yae.
ㅔ sounds similar ae in "24-hour interval"
- With ㅔ, you combine ㅓ(eo) plus ㅣ(e) to make ae.
ㅖsounds like yae equally in "yay"
- With ㅖ, you combine ㅕ (yeo) plus ㅣ(eastward) to brand yae.
ㅚ sounds like "we"
- With ㅚ, you combine ㅗ (o) plus plus ㅣ to make nosotros
ㅙ sounds like "way"
- With ㅙ, you combine ㅗ (o) plus plus ㅐ(ae) to brand manner
ㅟ sounds like "we"
- With ㅟ, you combine ㅜ (oo) plus ㅣ(e) to brand we
ㅞ sounds similar "way"
- With ㅞ, you combine ㅜ (oo) plus ㅔ (ae) to make way
ㅢ sounds similar eui "oo we." This is a unique Korean sound, yous'll get the hang of over time.
- With ㅟ, ou combine ㅡ (eu) plus ㅣ (e) to brand oo we
ㅝ sounds like wuh.
- With ㅝ, you combine ㅜ (oo) plus ㅓ(eo) to make wuh

Don't worry near memorizing all these messages just yet. We're going to proceed it simple with a few of the letters so you can see how Korean works start. And then I'll break everything down into digestible bits and walk y'all through the alphabet stride-by-step.

How To Adapt Letters In Korean

Yous might accept noticed the Korean alphabet looks a niggling like the game Tetris. That's considering it's always written in ane syllable blocks. Each block always follows one of these four rules:

This diagram shows the four different ways y'all can arrange letters to make one syllable in Korean. "C" equals Consonant and "V" equals vowel.

You can have:

a consonant on top of a vowel.
two consonants with a vowel in betwixt them similar a sandwich.
a consonant and a vowel side-by-side.
a consonant and a vowel together with a consonant underneath both of them.

Call up, you can never have a consonant by itself. It must have a vowel pair.

Practising Syllables In Korean

Let's practice syllables with a word yous probably already know: "kimchi" (a traditional Korean food). We're going to simply do this in English for now.

Kimchi has two syllables, the first is "kim" and the second is "chi." This ways you would write "kim" in one block and "chi" in the second when writing in Korean.

Now nosotros'll practice a few more than common Korean words. Describe a line between the syllables.

Bulgogi (barbeque beef)
Kpop (Korean pop music)
Soju (a type of Korean alcohol)
Gochujang (Korean chili paste)

Where did yous draw the lines? Information technology should look something similar this:

Bul * become * gi
K * pop
So * ju
Go * ju * jang

Don't worry if this seems like a lot to take in at one time. To make it easy, just remember for at present that consonants always come first and must have a vowel.

One more thing: Korean vowels are never written past themselves. If you want to make an "a" sound, you lot have to write information technology with the placeholder consonant "ㅇ." To read and write "ah," you then write "아."

The easiest way to remember it is that the placeholder looks like the number nada, so information technology makes no audio.

Putting Together Some Simple Korean Words

Now that you have a sense of what the Korean alphabet looks like and how to conform letters to brand words, let's run across practicing putting some letters together:

Practice you recall these four letters?

What sounds do they make? That's right it's:

ㄱ =g (1000 as in "gilded")
ㄴ =n (n as in "nancy")
ㄷ = d (d equally in "dog")
아 =a (a as in "ah")

So now nosotros tin put these together to make some basic sounds and words.

가 = ga
나 = na
아 = a
간 = gan which means "go" in English.

How did we assemble these? Remember our rules from in a higher place. In this example it was rule four: y'all tin can put together a consonant and vowel with a consonant underneath them.

So nosotros took 가 which is ㄱ + 아 and added ㄴ underneath it. To make 간 or "gan."

Allow'due south practise another. But we're going to add a new consonant first. This one is a b as in "male child" sound.

ㅂ = b
바 = ba

Now try this word that shows you lot how piece of cake it is to read the Korean language.

바= ba
나 = na
바나나 = ba na na or "assistant"

This one is really simple. Each syllable follows dominion three: y'all can have a consonant and vowel next to each other.

Banana is just ane of many 'Konglish' (Korea + English) words you'll frequently hear in Korean.

More Do

Permit's try another ane to brand one of the most pop Korean words.

바= ba
ㅂ= b
밥= bab which means rice in Korean.

Notice how it follows the stacking rules from in a higher place. Tin y'all identify which rule information technology is? Detect you have a consonant then a vowel and then a consonant underneath. That right is Rule 4.

* Rice is so important in Korean culture that another way to say "howdy" is "have you eaten rice today?"

Here'southward an easy one. This time effort to put it together by yourself.

가
다

Did you get it? Information technology's 가다 (ga da), which means "to go." Which rule is this? You have a consonant and vowel. So information technology has to be Rule 1.

Another helpful thing yous'll acquire most Korean is that all verbs cease in "다" in their basic form, so it'due south really easy to recognize them.

Practice reading these words and place which rule they follow. Over time, you lot'll be able to practise this unconsciously.

Some other Korean Vowel

Before we get started, we accept to introduce you to one more vowel so you can see all the dissimilar ways to adjust syllables. It's fourth dimension you meet "ㅗ" which makes an "O" sound.

ㅗ = o as in "oh"

Don't forget we can never get out vowels by themself. So you lot'll see it written like this:

오 = oh

While we're practicing, do y'all recall this one "아." That'southward right it's "ah"

Now you're prepare. Read the syllables and place which rule it follows:

고
간
바나나
봅
가다
보보
각

Here'due south what they should sound like:

Goh (Rule 1)
Kahn (Rule four)
Ba Na Na (Rule 3)
Bohb (Rule 2)
Ka da (Rule 3)
Bo bo (Rule 1)
Gahg (Rule 4)

Now, take the letters you learned and so far and do writing them on your own:

ㄱ =k
ㄴ =n
ㄷ = d
ㅂ= b
아 = a
오 = o

Don't worry; the words don't have to hateful anything. Just get the hang of how to adjust them in the right order.

When Should You Learn The Korean Alphabet?

Every bit shortly every bit possible! As I always say: learn the script from the start. The sooner you lot larn the alphabet, the sooner you'll exist able to offset writing and reading sentences on your own.

But that's not the only reason. You've probably seen "romanizations" of Korean or Korean written in English letters. Although information technology might seem easier to read Korean similar this, it's actually much harder.

Recall why Korean is and then great—because all letters and vowels sound like they should, with no confusing letter of the alphabet like "c," "thousand," and all the other tricky ways we write in English language.

For that reason, there is no perfect direct translation between sounds in Korean and English language letters. What you get are words that don't make much sense.

Permit'south go back to the hit song "Gangnam" Way. If you read this in English, yous might think it sounds like "Gang" as in the English language word "Gang", when really it's more like "Gahng" to make it "Gangnam" Style.

And this is not the merely earth like this. Most every Korean word sounds dissimilar when written in Korean. And if you desire other people to understand you in Korean likewise as to understand what Korean sounds like, you'll demand to know how the letters actually sound.

When written in Korean, Gangnam is much simpler to pronounce correctly. :

강 kahng = river
남 : nahm = south
강남= South river (a district in Seoul).

Gangnam refers to the trendy area southward of the Han River, which divides Seoul in half. This district and its flashy and often airheaded ways are what Psy is singing about in Gangnam Mode.

Do yourself a favor and beginning learning the alphabet asap. Yous tin can then begin to read things in Korean— even if you don't know what all the words mean simply yet.

5 Tips To Learn The Korean Alphabet Like a Pro

We're not going to prevarication. Fifty-fifty with such an amazingly like shooting fish in a barrel script, Korean is still a tricky language to larn. But compared to other Asian languages similar Japanese, Chinese, or Thai, this gives you such a helpful boost when you lot are getting started.

1. Practice The Script As Much Equally Possible Right Away

You might not remember it all in one morning as the famous quote says, only the more often you practise information technology, the easier it will get.

Make flashcards with all the messages and so start putting basic words together even if they don't mean anything.

2. Texting Volition Get You There

Did you know Korea has its own extremely popular messaging app chosen Kakao Talk? Present, you lot can hands get a Korean keyboard on your smartphone.

If you're a piffling dislocated about all the stacking and arranging, you don't have to worry. Your smartphone will put things in the right order for yous. Pay attention, and you'll become the hang of it in no time!

3. Hangul Wasn't Built In A Day

Hangul took King Sejong and his squad years to create. It and then took many more years for information technology to catch on with the masses. Don't strain yourself trying to call back all 24 letters on the first solar day.

Intermission it up into manageable pieces. Subsequently a few weeks, yous'll be impressed by simply how far you've come.

four. Menus, Menus, Menus

Looking at menus is a great manner to do, especially if you already know the names of your favorite Korean dishes. And, since many menus include pictures, it will help y'all to recall some useful vocabulary.

5. There Is Konglish Everywhere In Korean

Nosotros talked about "바나나" or "banana" early. Go along an eye out for more Konglish considering you can see everywhere. Common Konglish words include "피자" or "Pizza" (pronounced "Pee Jah") or "콜라" which is "Kola" as in Coca-cola and other sodas.

How To Learn The Korean Alphabet: The Lesser Line

Learning a foreign language may seem daunting—specially one every bit different from English as Korean. Every bit you've worked through this lesson, still, you lot've seen it really isn't that difficult subsequently all!

Thanks to Hangul, it's actually really easy to read and write the Korean language. You've already skillful 4 consonants and 2 vowels out of 24 messages in total or about 25% of the written language in total!

Did you lot realize when you started that you'd become this far then apace?

Keep breaking information technology down into these manageable chunks and you'll have it mastered in no time.

This won't only assistance your comprehension but your pronunciation besides. From here, you tin can start building sentences and practicing conversation skills.

Whether y'all desire to sing similar your favorite idols, deed like y'all're in a K-drama, or dive into the amazing history and culture of Korea, at that place's no better manner to begin than by learning the Korean alphabet, Hangul.

So stick with it and you'll reach your Korean language goals in no time!

Source: https://storylearning.com/learn/korean/korean-tips/korean-alphabet

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