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Hangul chart for beginners: letters, blocks and audio examples

Hangul letters combine into syllable blocks. Start with the 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels below, then hear how they work in real words.

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Basic consonants

14 basic consonant letters
Letter	Reading aid
ㄱ	g/k
ㄴ	n
ㄷ	d/t
ㄹ	r/l
ㅁ	m
ㅂ	b/p
ㅅ	s
ㅇ	silent / ng
ㅈ	j
ㅊ	ch
ㅋ	k (aspirated)
ㅌ	t (aspirated)
ㅍ	p (aspirated)
ㅎ	h

ㅇ is silent at the start of a block, as in 아. At the bottom of a block it sounds ng, as in 강. ㄹ varies with its position; English r and l are only rough guides.

Basic vowels

10 basic vowel letters
Letter	Reading aid
ㅏ	a
ㅑ	ya
ㅓ	eo
ㅕ	yeo
ㅗ	o
ㅛ	yo
ㅜ	u
ㅠ	yu
ㅡ	eu
ㅣ	i

eo and eu each represent one vowel, not two English vowel sounds. Use recordings instead of reading them as “ee-oh” and “ee-you.”

Double consonants and compound vowels

The five tense consonants are ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ and ㅉ. They contrast with both the plain and aspirated consonants; saying an English consonant louder is not a reliable substitute.

Additional vowels are ㅐ (ae), ㅒ (yae), ㅔ (e), ㅖ (ye), ㅘ (wa), ㅙ (wae), ㅚ (oe), ㅝ (wo), ㅞ (we), ㅟ (wi) and ㅢ (ui). Pronunciation varies in modern speech: for example, many speakers merge ae and e. Treat this as a spelling chart and learn each word with audio.

Read blocks in order

With a vertical vowel, the consonant goes left: ㄴ + ㅏ → 나. With a horizontal vowel, the consonant goes above: ㅁ + ㅜ → 무. A final consonant goes underneath: ㅅ + ㅏ + ㄴ → 산.

Listen to real blocks in words

나 · I / me (casual)

Picture and sound mnemonic

A cheerful plate of nachos with little legs kicks a grinning man, who points both thumbs at his own chest. No name tag or writing anywhere. — A living plate of **Nachos** kicks a grinning man, who jabs a thumb at his own chest: Me.

나 (na) → Nachos

오이 · cucumber

Picture and sound mnemonic

A hulking green ogre hugs a screeching eagle so tight that a giant cucumber shoots out of its beak. — A hulking **Ogre** squeezes a screeching **Eagle**, launching a giant **Cucumber** from its beak.

오 (o) → Ogre + 이 (i) → Eagle

우유 · milk

uyu

Picture and sound mnemonic

Glowing green ooze pours onto a plump unicorn, who stirs it with its horn into a tall glass of white milk. — Green **Ooze** pours from a beaker held by an upside-down **Unicorn**, swirling into a tall glass of **Milk**.

우 (u) → Ooze + 유 (yu) → Unicorn

산 · mountain

san

Picture and sound mnemonic

A bowl of salsa sits skewered on a giant steel nail driven into the snowy peak of a tall mountain. — A bowl of **Salsa** sits skewered on a giant **Nail** hammered into the snowy peak of a **Mountain**.

사 (sa) → Salsa + ㄴ (n) → Nail

물 · water

mul

Picture and sound mnemonic

A desk lamp bends down and squeezes a glowing crescent moon, which splashes a huge blue wave of water. — A giant **Moon** gets squeezed by a desk **Lamp**, splashing a huge wave of **Water**.

무 (mu) → Moon + ㄹ (l) → Lamp

강 · river

gang

Picture and sound mnemonic

A bulb of garlic swings a paddle at a little ping-pong ball that splashes into a wide, winding river. — A bulb of **Garlic** swats a little ping-pong ball, which lands with a bright **Ping** in a winding **River**.

가 (ga) → Garlic + ㅇ (ng) → Ping

What changes at the bottom of a block?

A bottom consonant is called batchim. At a pause, written final consonants fall into seven basic final sounds: ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ and ㅇ. A following syllable can change how the consonant is pronounced. See the batchim chart and connected-word examples.

Practise assembling blocks · Test your reading · Try Korean word mnemonics

Written by Remlori using examples and media from our beginner course. Alphabet reference: National Institute of Korean Language, Hangul principles. Romanization approximates the sound; use the recordings when practising.

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