If you want to learn Korean, you must first learn how to read the Korean alphabet. Luckily, Hangul is relatively easy to learn, and many can learn to read Korean characters in as little as 24 hours. In the lesson below, you’ll learn how to read and pronounce all the Korean letters of the alphabet and how to read Korean words. Already learned how to read Korean? Then get started with our free online Korean language course.
Related: Free Korean Alphabet Worksheets / Free Korean Alphabet Flashcards
Korean Alphabet: Basic ConsonantsFirst, let’s learn how to read Korean basic consonants. There are 14 basic consonants in the Korean alphabet. These are ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ,ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ,ㅎ. Let’s learn the sounds of each of these Korean consonants one by one. Look at the pictures and try to remember the consonant sounds. Then click on the audio to hear a native Korean speaker pronounce these Korean consonants.
ㄱThe Korean character ㄱ sounds like the ‘g’ in gun.
ㄴThe Korean character ㄴ sounds like the ‘n’ in nose.
ㄷThe Korean character ㄷ sounds like the ‘d’ in door.
ㄹThe Korean character ㄹ sounds similar to the ‘l’ in ladder.
ㅁThe Korean character ㅁ sounds like the ‘m’ in monitor.
ㅂThe Korean character ㅂ sounds like the ‘b’ in beer.
ㅅThe Korean character ㅅ sounds like the ‘s’ in slide.
ㅈThe Korean character ㅈ sounds like the ‘j’ in jellyfish.
ㅊThe Korean character ㅊ sounds like the ‘ch’ in church.
ㅋThe Korean character ㅋ sounds like the ‘k’ in key.
ㅌThe Korean character ㅌ sounds like the ‘t’ in teeth.
ㅍThe Korean character ㅍ sounds like the ‘p’ in pillar.
ㅎThe Korean character ㅎ sounds like the ‘h’ in hat.
ㅇThe Korean character ㅇ sounds like the ‘ng’ in ring.*ㅇ only makes a sound when it is at the end of the syllable. At the start, it is silent.
Korean Alphabet: Basic VowelsNext, you will learn how to read Korean basic vowels. There are 10 basic vowels in the Korean alphabet which areㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ, ㅣ. Look at the Korean vowels below and read the instructions on how to pronounce them. Then, click on the audio to the sound these Korean characters make.
ㅏㅏ = aThe Korean vowel ㅏ sounds like the short ‘a‘ vowel sound in English. ㅏ sounds like the ‘a‘ in apple.
ㅑㅑ= yaThe Korean vowel ㅑ makes the sound ‘ya’. Notice how it is similar to the previous vowel but with an extra line? The extra line changes the ‘a’ sound into ‘ya’.
ㅓㅓ = eoThe Korean vowel ㅓ sounds like the short o vowel sound in English. It sounds like the ‘o’ in the words pod, mop, job, etc.
ㅕㅕ= yeoThe Korean vowel ㅕ makes the sound ‘yeo’. Again, it is similar to the previous vowel but with an extra line, right? The extra line changes the ‘eo’ sound into ‘yeo’.
ㅗㅗ = oThe Korean vowel ㅗ sounds like the long o vowel sound in English. It sounds like the ‘o’ in the words bone, stone, coat, etc.
ㅛㅛ = yoThe Korean vowel ㅛ makes the sound ‘yo’. Again, the extra line changes the ‘o’ sound into ‘yo’. ㅛ sounds like the ‘yo‘ in the word ‘yo-yo’.
ㅜㅜ = uThe Korean vowel ㅜ sounds like the long u vowel sound in English. It sounds like the ‘u’ sound in the words mule, tune, blue, etc.
ㅠㅠ = yuThe Korean vowel ㅠ makes the sound ‘yu’. The extra line changes the ‘u’ sound into ‘yu’. ㅠ sounds like the word ‘you’ in English.
ㅡㅡ = euThe Korean vowel ㅡ sounds similar to the short u vowel sound in the English words umbrella, put, mud, etc. However, it is slightly different and requires a unique mouth position.
ㅣㅣ= iThe Korean vowel ㅣsounds like the long e sound in English.ㅣ sounds like the ‘ee’ in the words meet, feet, tree, etc.
Korean Alphabet: Combined VowelsNext, let’s take a look at how to read Korean combined vowels. These are made up by combining two simple vowels. The combined vowels you will learn are: ㅐ, ㅒ, ㅔ, ㅖ, ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅚ, ㅝ, ㅞ, ㅟ, ㅢ. Read the instructions below, and try to pronounce these vowels. Then, click on the audio to listen to a native Korean speaker say these Korean characters.
ㅐㅐ = aeThis combined vowel is ㅏ + ㅣ. Together they make ㅐ which sounds like the ‘e‘ in egg and elephant.
ㅒㅒ = yaeThis combined vowel is ㅑ + ㅣ. Together they make ㅒ which sounds like the ‘ye‘ in yes and yesterday.
ㅔㅔ = eThis combined vowel is ㅓ + ㅣ. Together they make ㅔ which again sounds like the ‘e‘ in egg and elephant. *ㅐ and ㅔ are different sounds in theory, but people pronounce them the same and even native Korean speakers often cannot differentiate between the two.
ㅖㅖ = yeThis combined vowel is ㅕ + ㅣ. Together they make ㅖ which again sounds like the ‘ye‘ in yes and yesterday.Again, ㅒ and ㅖ are technically different sounds but in reality, they are pronounced the same.
ㅘㅘ = waThis combined vowel is ㅗ + ㅏ. Together they make ㅘ which makes the sound ‘wa‘.To make this sound, begin by shaping your mouth to make the ㅗ sound. Then start to say the ㅗ sound and then quickly say the ㅏ sound. The resulting sound is ㅘ (wa).
ㅙㅙ = waeThis compound vowel is ㅗ + ㅐ. Together they make ㅙ.To make this sound begin by shaping your mouth to make the ㅗ sound. Then start to say the ㅗ sound and then quickly say the ㅐ sound.The resulting sound is ㅙ (wae) as in ‘wedding’.*ㅙ , ㅚ, ㅞ all sound the same.
ㅝㅝ= weoThis compound vowel is ㅜ + ㅓ. Together they make ㅝ.To make this sound begin by shaping your mouth to make the ㅜ sound. Start to say the ㅜ sound and then quickly say the ㅓ sound. The resulting sound is ㅝ which is similar to the ‘wa‘ in walk.
ㅞㅞ= weThis combined vowel is ㅜ + ㅔ. Together they make ㅞ.To make this sound begin by shaping your mouth to make the ㅜ sound. Then start to say the ㅜ sound and then quickly say the ㅔ sound. The resulting sound is ㅞ (we). Again this sounds like the ‘we‘ in wedding.*ㅙ , ㅚ, ㅞ all sound the same.
ㅚㅚ= oeThis combined vowel is ㅗ + ㅣ. Together they make ㅚ.To make this sound begin by shaping your mouth to make the ㅗ sound. Then start to say the ㅗ sound and then quickly say the ㅣ sound. The resulting sound is ㅚ (oe) which also sounds like the ‘we‘ in ‘wedding’.*ㅙ , ㅚ, ㅞ all sound the same.
ㅟㅟ= wiThis compound vowel is ㅜ + ㅣ. Together they make ㅟ.To make this sound begin by shaping your mouth to make the ㅜ sound. Then start to say the ㅜ sound and then quickly say the ㅣ sound. The resulting sound is ㅟ (wi) which sounds like the ‘wee‘ in the word week.
ㅢㅢ = uiThis last compound vowel is ㅡ + ㅣ. Together they make ㅢ.To make this sound begin by shaping your mouth to make the ㅡ sound. Start to say the ㅡ sound and then quickly say the ㅣ sound. The resulting sound is ㅢ. *
How To Read Korean WordsNow that you he learned the basic Korean letters, it’s time to learn how to read Korean words. Korean, just like English, is read left to right and top to bottom. Korean words are made up of ‘syllable blocks’ and each syllable block has a minimum of 2 letters and a maximum of 4 letters. See the below examples.
In Korean, syllables must always start with a consonant. For this reason, Korean words that start with a vowel sound must include a silent consonant before the vowel. This silent consonant is ㅇ. As we learned earlier, ㅇ sounds like the ‘ng‘ in the word ring. However, when ㅇ is the first letter in a syllable block it is always silent. See the picture below.
In the above picture, the first syllable block is 안 (an). You’ll notice that the first Korean letter is ㅇ. In this position, it is always silent. Because all syllables must start with a consonant, when writing words that start with a vowel sound, we must start the syllable with the silent consonant ㅇ. The second syllable block in the picture above is 녕 (nyeong). As you can see ㅇ is the final consonant in that syllable block. In this position, ㅇ is pronounced as ‘ng‘.
Let’s try to read some simple Korean words. Look at the words below and try to read them out loud. If you’re not sure what a particular letter should sound like, scroll up the page to review that letter’s sound. After reading each word, play the audio to check if you were right.
이이 = tooth
아이아이 = kid
오이오이 = cucumber
우유우유 = milk
고기고기 = meat
구두구두 = dress shoes
나라나라 = country
바나나바나나 = banana
Korean Alphabet: Double ConsonantsNext, let’s learn how to read Korean double consonants. Korean double consonants are a little difficult to pronounce if you are new to studying the Korean alphabet. But with a little practice, you will be saying Korean double consonants in no time. The Korean double consonants we will learn are: ㅃ, ㅉ, ㄸ, ㄲ, ㅆ
If they look familiar it’s because these double consonants are just a single Korean consonant twice. Double consonants are pronounced the same as single consonants but are stressed with more emphasis. Watch the video below to listen to the difference between single and double consonant sounds in Korean.
Batchim Sounds (Final Consonant)So far you he learned how to read Korean basic consonants, basic vowels, combined vowels, and double consonants. The last thing you need to learn is about Korean final consonants known as ‘Batchim‘ (받침). When consonants are in the final syllable position, they make a different sound. Keep reading to learn the Korean Batchim rules.
Final Consonants ㅌ, ㄷ , ㅅ,ㅎ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊThese 7 consonants are all pronounced the same when in the final consonant (받침) position. So, to learn how to pronounce these consonants as a batchim, we just need to learn one. Let’s look at how to pronounce ㅌ as a final consonant. As we learned earlier ㅌ sounds like the ‘t‘ in ‘teeth’. However, when ㅌ is in the final position in the syllable it is pronounced slightly differently.
To help you understand how to pronounce ㅌ as a batchim, first I want you to place your hand in front of your mouth and say the word ‘bat‘ as you normally would in English. When you pronounce the ‘t‘ sound you will notice there is a small expulsion of air. Now, say ‘bat‘ again but this time stop yourself from making this expulsion of air when you say the ‘t‘ sound. This second way of saying ‘t‘ without the expulsion of air is how you pronounce ㅌ when it is in the final syllable consonant position.
The consonants ㅌ, ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅎ, ㅆ, ㅈ, and ㅊ all make this sound when in the final consonant (받침) position. Listen to the example words below to hear how these letters sound as a batchim (받침).
ㅌExample Word: 밑
ㄷExample Word: 걷
ㅅExample Word: 옷
ㅎExample Word: 낳
ㅆExample Word: 있
ㅈExample Word: 낮
ㅊExample Word: 꽃
Final Consonants ㄱ, ㅋ, and ㄲNext let’s look at the final consonants ㄱ, ㅋ, and ㄲ. As we learned earlier, ㄱ sounds like the ‘g‘ in gun, ㅋ sounds like the ‘k‘ in key, and ㄲ sounds like ㄱ but with more stress/emphasis. However, as a final syllable consonant, ㄱ, ㅋ and ㄲ all sound the same.
To understand how these are pronounced, again place your hand in front of your mouth and say the word ‘dog‘ as you would normally in English. When you say the ‘g‘ sound you’ll notice a puff of air is expelled. Now say ‘dog‘ again but this time do not let any air out when you say ‘g‘. This is the sound of ㄱ, ㅋ, and ㄲ when they are in the batchim position. Listen to the example words below to hear how these letters sound as a batchim (받침).
ㄱExample Word: 죽
ㅋExample Word: 부엌
ㄲExample Word: 밖
Final Consonants ㅂ and ㅍAs a batchim, both ㅂ and ㅍ make a ‘b‘ sound. Again, there is no expulsion of air when you say these sounds. Listen to the examples below.
ㅂExample Word: 입
ㅍExample Word: 앞
Final Consonants ㄴ, ㄹ, ㅁ, and ㅇThe last final consonants to learn are the easiest to learn because they don’t change their sound when they are in the final consonant position. These are ㄴ, ㄹ, ㅁ, and ㅇ. Listen to the example words below to hear how these letters sound as a batchim (받침).
ㄴExample Word: 눈
ㄹExample Word: 발
ㅁExample Word: 봄
ㅇExample Word: 강
CONGRATULATIONS!!!You he now learned everything you need to know to read Korean and start Korean Korean words and sentences. Don’t worry if you cannot read Korean words very fast just yet. As you learn more and more Korean, reading in Korean will become second nature. Now that you can read Korean, practice writing the Korean alphabet with our free Korean alphabet worksheets, or start our free online Korean course.