Korean Language Overview

Korean Language Overview Alphabet Korean Numbers Korean Grammar Word Order

Hangul consists of 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels. Including 5 double consonants and 11 compound vowels, there are 40 letters.

By combining these letters into syllable blocks (gulja), Hangul can form 11,172 possible guljas. Once the consonants and vowels are learned, all guljas can be read without memorizing them individually.

Alphabet(Consonants and Vowels)

Basic Consonents

Consonant Phonetic symbol Corresponds to As in Consonant name
ㄱ [g] G Golf 기역
ㄴ [n] N New 니은
ㄷ [d] D Delta 디귿
ㄹ [ɹ] or [l] R or L Rich/Local 리을
ㅁ [m] M March 미음
ㅂ [b] B Bill 비읍
ㅅ [s] S Study 시옷
ㅇ [∅] or [ŋ] - or ng Artist 이응
ㅈ [dʒ] J Jetty 지읒
ㅊ [tʃ] Ch Church 치읓
ㅋ [k] K Kelly 키읔
ㅌ [t] T Taxi 티읕
ㅍ [p] P Polar 피읖
ㅎ [h] H Hotel 히읗

Double Consonant

Consonant Phonetic symbol Corresponds to As in Consonant name
ㄲ [k͈] GG cognac, French 쌍기역
ㄸ [t͈] DD Stop(AE) 쌍디귿
ㅃ [p͈] BB Speak(AE) 쌍비읍
ㅆ [s͈] SS Sorry(AE) 쌍시옷
ㅉ [t͡ɕ͈] JJ Jazz(AE) 쌍지읒

Basic Vowels

Vowel Phonetic symbol Corresponds to As in Vowel Name
ㅏ [a] Ah Art 아
ㅑ [ja] Ya Yahoo 야
ㅓ [ʌ] Uh Uncle 어
ㅕ [jʌ] Yeo Yound 여
ㅗ [o] Oh Oliver 오
ㅛ [jo] Yo Yoga, Yoyo 요
ㅜ [u] Woo Ultra, Wood 우
ㅠ [ju] Yoo You, Utopia 유
ㅡ [eu] Eu - 으
ㅣ [i:],[I] I Illinois 이

Compound Vowels

Vowel Phonetic symbol Corresponds to As in Vowel Name
ㅔ [e] E End, Exe- 에
ㅖ [je] Ye Yellow 예
ㅐ [æ] Ae Apple 애
ㅒ [jæ] Yae Yanki 얘
ㅘ [wa] Wa White 와
ㅙ [oæ] Wae Wangler 왜
ㅚ [we] Oe Way 외
ㅝ [wʌ] Ueo War 워
ㅞ [we] Ue Wafer 웨
ㅟ [wi] Wi Willy 위
ㅢ [ɰi] Eui - 의

Gulja Structure

What Gulja is

In Hangul, consonants and vowels are combined to create a single syllable. These sound units sometimes play a role and sometimes have meaning, and since there's no English word to express them, we'll use their Korean names, gulja, here.

Language Alphabet
(Consonants and Vowels) 		gulja
(Syllable Block) 		Words A Sentence

Korean

ㄱㄴㄷㄹㅁㅂㅅㅇㅈㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ

ㅏㅑㅓㅕㅗㅛㅜㅠㅢ

 여, 러, 분, 안, 녕

여러분,

안녕

 여러분 안녕

English

B C D F G H J K...

A E I O U (YW)

 -

Hello,

Everyone

 Hello Everyone

In English, consonants and vowels form a word, and words form a sentence.

In Hangul, consonants and vowels form gulja, guljas form a word, and words form a sentence.

Gulja Shapes

Consonants and vowels are combined in the following ways. (C: consonant, V: vowel)

Consonant + Vowel Structure(CV) and the pronunciation

Consonant + Vowel + Consonant Structure(CVC) and the pronunciation

BTS Members’ Names in Hangul

BTS Jungkook in Korean

BTS Jimin in Korean

English Names in Korean

Jessica is 제시카, Sunny is 써니, Peter is 피터, George is 죠오지

How to write your name in Korean?

Sentence Structure

This page explains how English and Korean sentences are built, focusing on word order, particles, and verb endings.

1) Basic Word Order

English typically follows SVO (Subject–Verb–Object), while Korean typically follows SOV (Subject–Object–Verb).

Topic English Korean Example (EN → KO)
Basic order SVO SOV I eat an apple. → 나는 사과를 먹는다.
Verb position Middle Final She likes coffee. → 그녀는 커피를 좋아한다.

2) Particles vs Prepositions

English often uses prepositions and fixed word order. Korean uses particles (e.g., 은/는, 이/가, 을/를, 에, 에서) to mark roles.

3) Flexibility of Word Order

Because particles mark roles, Korean can change word order for emphasis more freely than English.

4) Modifiers: Adjectives & Adverbs

Both languages usually place adjectives before nouns. In Korean, adverbs commonly appear before the verb.

5) Subject Omission

English usually requires an explicit subject. Korean often omits the subject when it is clear from context.

6) Tense & Aspect

English often changes the verb form and uses auxiliaries (be, have). Korean mainly uses verb stems plus endings (어미).

7) Sentence Endings & Politeness

Korean changes meaning and politeness level through sentence endings (e.g., -요, -습니다, -해요, -해).

Topic English Korean Example
Role marking Prepositions + order Particles to school → 학교에 / at school → 학교에서
Word order change Limited More flexible I read a book. / (Emphasis) Book, I read. → 책을 나는 읽는다.
Subject omission Rare Common (I) Ate lunch. → (나는) 점심 먹었어요.
Progressive be + -ing -고 있다 I am eating. → 나는 먹고 있다.
Politeness Mostly tone Endings Eat. / Please eat. → 먹어. / 드세요.