The Hangul alphabet

Hangul has 19 consonants and 21 vowels. Each syllable combines an initial consonant, a vowel and sometimes a final consonant. Click a letter to see how to write it and hear it.

Syllable chart가 갸 거 겨 고 Final consonants각 간 갇 갈 감 Hangul quizㄱ = g ?

Consonants

Plain consonants (9)

Pronounced without a strong puff of air. At the start of a word ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ ㅈ sound close to k, t, p, ch; between vowels they sound like g, d, b, j.

Aspirated consonants (5)

Pronounced with a strong puff of air – hold a sheet of paper in front of your mouth and it should move.

Tense consonants (5)

Pronounced with a tense throat and no puff of air, short and sharp – like the k in “sky” or the t in “stop”.

Vowels

Basic vowels (10)

The 10 basic vowels are made by adding short strokes to a long line; doubling the short stroke adds a y sound (ㅏ a → ㅑ ya).

Compound vowels (11)

Vowels formed by combining two basic vowels. In modern speech ㅐ and ㅔ – and ㅙ, ㅚ, ㅞ – sound almost the same.