How Hangul works
Hangul has 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels. Doubling or combining them gives 5 tense consonants and 11 compound vowels, 40 letters in total. Letters are not written in a line like English. They are grouped into square syllable blocks: 한 = ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ.
The five basic consonant shapes copy the speech organs that make the sound, as explained in Hunminjeongeum Haerye (1446). Adding a stroke makes the sound stronger: ㄱ → ㅋ, ㄷ → ㅌ, ㅂ → ㅍ, ㅈ → ㅊ.
Vowels: sky, earth, person
Vowels are built from three ideas: a dot for the sky, a flat line for the earth (ㅡ) and a standing line for a person (ㅣ). Today the dot is written as a short stroke. Add a second stroke and you get a "y" sound: ㅏ a → ㅑ ya, ㅓ eo → ㅕ yeo.
Tips for learning fast
- Learn the 10 basic vowels with ㅇ first: 아 야 어 여 오 요 우 유 으 이.
- Then learn consonants one row at a time in the syllable chart (가 나 다 라...).
- Remember that ㅇ is silent at the start of a syllable but sounds like "ng" at the end: 아 (a) vs 앙 (ang).
- Test yourself with the Hangul quiz right after.
Romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean (National Institute of Korean Language).
FAQ
How long does it take to learn Hangul?
Most learners can read every letter in one to three days of practice. Reading smoothly takes a few weeks.
Why does ㄱ have two romanizations (g/k)?
At the start of a syllable ㄱ sounds closer to g; at the end of a syllable it is not released and sounds like k. The same goes for ㄷ (d/t) and ㅂ (b/p).
Why is there no sound for ㅇ?
At the beginning of a syllable ㅇ is a silent placeholder, because every Korean syllable must start with a consonant letter. As a final consonant it is pronounced "ng".
I hear no audio. What should I do?
Audio uses your device's Korean voice. On Windows add Korean in Settings → Time & language → Speech; on Android install Korean in Google text-to-speech; iPhone and Mac include Korean voices.