The alphabet

Hangul has forty letters: nineteen consonants and twenty-one vowels. Unlike Latin letters, they aren't written in a line; they stack into little squares, one square per syllable. So before you read a Korean word, you read a block.

The good news: the letters were designed. King Sejong's scholars, in the 15th century, drew consonants that echo the shape of the mouth when you make the sound, and vowels from three symbols meant to evoke heaven, earth, and a person standing between them. You're not memorizing arbitrary squiggles. You're reading little anatomy diagrams.

Consonants

Start here. These are the nineteen jamo you'll see at the beginning of most syllables.

ㄱgㄴnㄷdㄹrㅁmㅂbㅅsㅇsilentㅈjㅊchㅋkㅌtㅍpㅎhㄲkkㄸttㅃppㅆssㅉjj

Vowels

Vowels are the shapes built around a vertical or horizontal line. The little strokes tell you where the vowel sits in your mouth: front or back, high or low.

ㅏaㅑyaㅓuhㅕyuhㅗoㅛyoㅜooㅠyooㅡuhㅣeeㅐehㅒyehㅔehㅖyehㅘwaㅙwehㅚwehㅝwuhㅞwehㅟweeㅢui

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Ready to test yourself? The playground introduces letters two at a time, in the same order as this page.

Try round 1 →