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How to read Hangul syllable blocks, one piece at a time

A Korean square is usually a syllable made from letters, rather than a single indivisible character. Read its initial consonant, vowel and any final consonant.

Locate the vowel first

In 가, ㄱ sits to the left of the vertical vowel ㅏ. In 고, ㄱ sits above the horizontal vowel ㅗ. The shape changes the arrangement, not the reading order: initial consonant, then vowel.

A final consonant sits underneath. 한 has ㅎ, then ㅏ, then final ㄴ. The bottom letter is called 받침 (batchim). Looking for the bottom position is more reliable than trying to read every stroke as one left-to-right row.

Start with four blocks

가 (ga) — ㄱ + ㅏ: no final consonant
고 (go) — ㄱ + ㅗ: no final consonant
한 (han) — ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ: final n
우유 (uyu) — two vowel-starting blocks; initial ㅇ is silent

Why is ㅇ there?

When a syllable begins with a vowel sound, ㅇ fills the initial position without adding a consonant sound. At the bottom of a block, ㅇ represents ng. Its position is essential: the same written letter has a different job at the start and end.

Learn a few blocks from real words, cover their romanization and identify each letter. English spellings are a temporary aid; they cannot represent every Korean sound precisely.

Try it before looking

Split 한 into its letters.
Does the first ㅇ in 우유 add an ng sound?
Where would you look for batchim?

Show answers and reasons

ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ, read han.
No. Initial ㅇ is silent.
Under the initial consonant and vowel.

Next: what happens to a final consonant.

Listen and repeat

Play an example, repeat it, then cover its reading and try again.

우유

Keep practising

Practise Korean words with pictures and audio. Read a short example, cover the reading, then say it again from the script.

Reference: National Institute of Korean Language. Explanations and practice here are written by Remlori.

Practise sounds, words and sentence building in the free first chapter.

Start Korean Lesson 1

Check block order

Choose a mode and a group. Each round has up to ten questions. Wrong answers go into a retry round.

Try these questions, then open the answers. The interactive version needs JavaScript.

Choose the correct reading order for 한.
Answer and explanation
ㅎ → ㅏ → ㄴ — Read initial consonant, vowel, then final consonant.
Is initial ㅇ in 우유 pronounced ng?
Answer and explanation
No — Initial ㅇ fills the consonant position silently.
Where is the vowel in 고?
Answer and explanation
Below ㄱ — Horizontal ㅗ goes underneath the initial consonant.
Where is the vowel in 가?
Answer and explanation
Right of ㄱ — Vertical ㅏ sits to the right.
How many syllable blocks are in 우유?
Answer and explanation
2 — 우 and 유 are the two blocks.