Hangul is the Korean writing system, widely considered one of the most logical and learnable alphabets ever created. It was invented in 1443 by King Sejong the Great specifically to be easy for common people to learn.
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Why Hangul Is Special
The consonant shapes reflect mouth position. The letter ㄱ (g/k) is shaped like the tongue touching the back of the palate. ㄴ (n) shows the tongue touching the front. ㅁ (m) represents closed lips. Vowels are based on three elements: a vertical line (person), a horizontal line (earth), and a short stroke (sky).---
The 14 Basic Consonants
| Letter |
| Sound |
| -------- |
| ------- |
| ㄱ |
| g/k |
| ㄴ |
| n |
| ㄷ |
| d/t |
| ㄹ |
| r/l |
| ㅁ |
| m |
| ㅂ |
| b/p |
| ㅅ |
| s |
| ㅇ |
| silent (initial) / ng (final) |
| ㅈ |
| j/ch |
| ㅊ |
| ch (aspirated) |
| ㅋ |
| k (aspirated) |
| ㅌ |
| t (aspirated) |
| ㅍ |
| p (aspirated) |
| ㅎ |
| h |
| Letter |
| Similar to |
| -------- |
| ------------ |
| ㅏ |
| "a" in "father" |
| ㅑ |
| "ya" in "yard" |
| ㅓ |
| Between "uh" and "oh" |
| ㅕ |
| "yuh" |
| ㅗ |
| "o" in "go" |
| ㅛ |
| "yo" in "yoga" |
| ㅜ |
| "oo" in "moon" |
| ㅠ |
| "you" |
| ㅡ |
| Like "oo" but with unrounded lips |
| ㅣ |
| "ee" in "see" |
| Korean |
| Meaning |
| -------- |
| --------- |
| 한국 |
| Korea |
| 감사합니다 |
| Thank you |
| 안녕하세요 |
| Hello |
| 네 |
| Yes |
| 아니요 |
| No |
Learning Hangul unlocks everything: textbooks, signs, menus, subtitles. It is the single highest-return investment in your Korean learning journey.
At Targumi, our Korean tutors start with Hangul and build your reading confidence from the very first lesson.