Coffee chain names — easy first wins
- 스타벅스Starbucks (seu-ta-beok-seu)
- 투썸플레이스Twosome Place
- 이디야Ediya
- 커피빈Coffee Bean
- 메가커피Mega Coffee
Hangul in 30 min
Plan & reference
Read Hangul in 30 minutes
King Sejong designed Hangul in 1443 to be learnable in a morning. By the time you finish this page you’ll decode signs, subway stations, and most café names. Speaking comes later — reading is the unlock.
1
Vowels — the shape tells you the sound
Vertical lines = vertical-mouth sounds; horizontal lines = round-mouth sounds. A short stroke means add a 'y' to the front.
ㅏ
a
"a" as in "father".
ㅑ
ya
"ya" as in "yacht".
ㅓ
eo
"uh" sound, lips relaxed.
ㅕ
yeo
"yuh".
ㅗ
o
"o" as in "oh".
ㅛ
yo
"yo" as in "yo-yo".
ㅜ
u
"oo" as in "boot".
ㅠ
yu
"yoo".
ㅡ
eu
Like the "oo" in "good" but with spread lips.
ㅣ
i
"ee" as in "see".
1b
Compound vowels (slide two together)
Korean shows you when sounds glide — the vowels visually combine.
ㅐ
ae
"e" as in "bed".
ㅒ
yae
"yeah".
ㅔ
e
Same as ㅐ in modern speech.
ㅖ
ye
"ye" as in "yes".
ㅘ
wa
"wa" as in "watt".
ㅙ
wae
"weh".
ㅚ
oe
"weh" — same as ㅙ.
ㅝ
wo
"wuh".
ㅞ
we
"weh".
ㅟ
wi
"wee".
ㅢ
ui
"eu-ee" — quick glide.
2
Consonants — basic 14
Each consonant shape resembles the position your mouth makes when pronouncing it. ㅁ looks like closed lips, ㄱ looks like the back of the tongue raising.
ㄱ
g / k
Like the tongue position of "g" in "go"; sounds harder at start of a word.
ㄴ
n
Same as English "n".
ㄷ
d / t
Like English "d"; harder at start ("t").
ㄹ
r / l
A flap between English "r" and "l".
ㅁ
m
Same as English "m".
ㅂ
b / p
Like English "b"; harder at start ("p").
ㅅ
s
Like English "s"; gets a slight "sh" before "i" sounds.
ㅇ
— / ng
Silent when leading a syllable; "ng" as final.
ㅈ
j
Like English "j" in "jump", a bit softer.
ㅊ
ch
Aspirated "ch" (extra puff of air).
ㅋ
k
Aspirated "k".
ㅌ
t
Aspirated "t".
ㅍ
p
Aspirated "p".
ㅎ
h
Same as English "h".
2b
Tense (doubled) consonants
Hold the muscle tight, no extra puff of air.
ㄲ
kk
Tense / glottal "k" — no aspiration.
ㄸ
tt
Tense "t".
ㅃ
pp
Tense "p".
ㅆ
ss
Tense "s" — sharp.
ㅉ
jj
Tense "j".
3
Stack them into syllable blocks
A syllable = consonant + vowel, optionally a closing consonant (받침 batchim). Each block is read top→bottom, left→right.
| Block | Sound | Means | How it stacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 가 | ga | "go" (verb stem) | ㄱ (g) + ㅏ (a) |
| 나 | na | I / me | ㄴ (n) + ㅏ (a) |
| 한 | han | one / Korean | ㅎ (h) + ㅏ (a) + ㄴ (n, batchim) |
| 국 | guk | country / soup | ㄱ (g) + ㅜ (u) + ㄱ (k, batchim) |
| 말 | mal | word / language / horse | ㅁ (m) + ㅏ (a) + ㄹ (l, batchim) |
| 안 | an | inside / no | ㅇ (silent) + ㅏ (a) + ㄴ (n, batchim) |
| 집 | jip | house | ㅈ (j) + ㅣ (i) + ㅂ (p, batchim) |
| 밥 | bap | rice / meal | ㅂ (b) + ㅏ (a) + ㅂ (p, batchim) |
| 물 | mul | water | ㅁ (m) + ㅜ (u) + ㄹ (l, batchim) |
| 돈 | don | money | ㄷ (d) + ㅗ (o) + ㄴ (n, batchim) |
4
Signs you'll start reading today
Once you can sound out blocks, most public signs become readable.
입구
Entrance (ib-gu)
You'll see this on every door.
출구
Exit (chul-gu)
Subways number them: 1번 출구 = Exit 1.
화장실
Restroom (hwa-jang-sil)
Universal — every building.
남자
Men (nam-ja)
Restroom doors.
여자
Women (yeo-ja)
Restroom doors.
주차
Parking (ju-cha)
주차장 = parking lot.
금연
No smoking (geum-yeon)
On most building entrances.
비상구
Emergency exit (bi-sang-gu)
Green running-figure sign.
식당
Restaurant (sik-dang)
On building directories.
카페
Cafe (ka-pe)
Borrowed word — easy first read.
편의점
Convenience store (pyeon-ui-jeom)
CU, GS25 logos around it.
약국
Pharmacy (yak-guk)
Green cross + 약 character.
병원
Hospital (byeong-won)
Red cross sign too.
지하철
Subway (ji-ha-cheol)
On all underground signage.
버스
Bus (beo-seu)
Above stops and on terminals.
5
Confidence drills — read these, you already know what they say
Brands you already know
- 맥도날드McDonald's
- 버거킹Burger King
- 서브웨이Subway (the sandwich chain)
- 아이폰iPhone (a-i-pon)
- 넷플릭스Netflix
Subway stations you'll need
- 서울역Seoul Station
- 명동Myeong-dong
- 홍대입구Hongik Univ. (Hongdae)
- 강남Gangnam
- 인천공항Incheon Airport