Korean alphabet: how Hangul works

Published 29 August 2026 · DeckLearn Editorial Team · Reviewed by DeckLearn Canada

Hangul (한글) is the Korean writing system. A practical beginner starting point is its 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels.

Letters combine into syllable blocks: ㄱ + ㅏ = 가 (ga), ㄴ + ㅏ = 나 (na), and ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ = 한 (han). Reading these blocks directly is more useful than depending on romanization.

Core consonants and vowels

Consonants include ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅎ. Basic vowels include ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ, ㅣ.