Korean alphabet: how Hangul letters become syllable blocks

Published 29 August 2026 · DeckLearn Editorial Team · Reviewed by DeckLearn United Kingdom

Korean is the language; Hangul (한글) is its writing system. Modern beginner Hangul is usually introduced through 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels. The key idea is that the letters are arranged into square-looking syllable blocks rather than written as one continuous horizontal string.

Start with a few reusable letters

Basic consonants include ㄱ (g/k), ㄴ (n), ㄷ (d/t), ㄹ (r/l), ㅁ (m), ㅂ (b/p), ㅅ (s), ㅇ (silent at the start of many syllables or ng at the end), ㅈ (j), ㅊ (ch), ㅋ (k), ㅌ (t), ㅍ (p) and ㅎ (h). Basic vowels include ㅏ a, ㅑ ya, ㅓ eo, ㅕ yeo, ㅗ o, ㅛ yo, ㅜ u, ㅠ yu, ㅡ eu and ㅣ i.

Build blocks, not letter chains

Combine ㄱ + ㅏ to make 가 (ga). Combine ㄴ + ㅏ to make 나 (na). Add a final consonant and you get a three-part block such as 한 (han): ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ. The visual layout changes depending on the vowel, but the principle stays consistent.

This is the first Korean article in the UK blog because Korean is now part of the current DeckLearn UK language collection.