Learn Hangul? What is Hangul?

The official language of South Korea is Korean, and it employs Hangul as its alphabet and writing system. North Korea also utilizes the same writing system, known as Joseongeul (조선글), which was created in the 15th century by King Sejong the Great and his scholars during the Joseon Dynasty.

Hangul is a writing system created Hangul is known for its logical and scientific design. It consists of 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels, which can be combined to form syllables.

Learning Hangul is essential for understanding and writing in the Korean language. If you are interested in learning Korean, starting with Hangul is a fundamental step.

Hangul Alphabets = English A to Z?

The Korean alphabet pronunciation shares a lot of similarities with the English alphabet. That makes it easy to learn because you can use the pronunciation of English letters to learn the Korean alphabet pronunciation.

HOWEVER, the Korean alphabets are distinct from the English alphabets, English alphabets only can serve as a reference.

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Hangul Chart§

5 Ways to Form a Korean Word

Vowels

In the Korean language, there are 21 vowels, with 10 being basic and 11 classified as compound.

Basic Vowels (10)

How To Write

Compound Vowels (11)

Consonants

Hangul consists of 14 basic consonants. Among the 14 basic consonants, there are 9 single consonants and 5 aspirated consonants (also called aspirated consonants).

Single Consonants (9)

How To Write

Aspirated Consonants (5)

What are aspirated consonants?

Aspirated consonants refer to a type of consonant sound produced with a burst of breath or a strong puff of air.

For example, compare the following pairs of words:

• “pat” (aspirated) vs. “bat” (unaspirated)
• “top” (aspirated) vs. “stop” (unaspirated)
• “kit” (aspirated) vs. “skit” (unaspirated)

In Korean, we have 5 aspirated consonants:

How To Write

How to pronounce ㄹ / ㅇ

ㄹ≠ L / R ㅋ

The correct pronounciation for letter ㄹ is in between L and R. Your tongue does touch the top of your mouth, at the same time your tongue goes to the back of your mouth just HALFWAY.

ㅇ = silent/ng

• in front/on top of a vowel = silent
  야 [ya]
  요 [yo]

• as final consonant (batchim) = ng
  당[dang]
  농[nong]

Double Consonants (5)

How to pronounce ㅢ

Rule 1: ㅢ as ㅢ [Eui]

• ㅢ is used as the consonant ㅇ.
• ㅢ is used in the first syllable of a words.

의자 chair
의사 doctor
의료 medical care

Rule 2: ㅢ as ㅔ[Ei]

• ㅢ is used as the possessive 의.

민수의 의자 Minsu’s chair
나의 엄마 my mom
마리오의 학교 Mario’s school

Rule 3: ㅢ as ㅣ[i]

• ㅢ is used in the first syllable with consonants other than ㅇ.
• ㅢ is used iother syllable with consonants position with any consonant.

회의 meeting
희망 hope
띄다 to be seen easily

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Final Consonants (Batchim)

In Hangul, final consonants, also known as batchim (받침), are the consonants that can be added to the end of a syllable. These final consonants are used to complete the syllabic block.

It functions more as a support consonant rather than a final consonant, providing structural support to the syllable from the base. The term “Batchim” is derived from the Korean word “받치다” (bat-chi-da), meaning “to support.” The pronunciation is ‘Bachim’ [바침], and it is written as 받침 [Batchim].

Batchim Sound Rules

Example

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Crystal (China) 🇨🇳 – Work Trip to 🇰🇷 in less than 1 year!​
Mario has taken me from a point of not even knowing the Korean alphabet to someone capable of engaging in conversations with Koreans and undertaking work trips to Korea! Learning Korean has proven to be incredibly beneficial on my career journey!

Marina (United Kingdom) 🇬🇧 – Spoke like a native when I visited Korea!​
I was able to communicate in Korean at shops and restaurants during my visit to Korea – it was truly amazing. Thanks to Mario, who is the most adaptive and engaging teacher ever! He is the best teacher I’ve ever had!

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5. TOPIK
6. Hangul – The Korean Alphabets
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8. Intermediate Grammar
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