Hangul Practice: Build Korean Syllables from Letters

The practice area shows three slots: First consonant, Vowel and Final consonant. Tap a slot to open the letters that fit it, pick one, and the next empty slot opens by itself. The block is drawn in the right shape for the vowel you chose.

The finished block shows its reading and buttons to hear it, at normal speed or slowly. Tap a slot again to change just that part, or paste a block you already have and break it into its letters.

In Korean writing a syllable always begins with a consonant, even when it starts with a vowel sound. The silent ㅇ fills that place, so 아 is ㅇ + ㅏ and 오 is ㅇ + ㅗ.

A final consonant sits under the vowel and changes the ending of the sound. Build 가, then add ㄱ to get 각, ㄴ to get 간, or ㅇ to get 강, and compare how the ending feels in your mouth.

To type Korean on a phone or computer, add Korean as an input language in the keyboard settings of your device. Consonants and vowels then appear on separate sides of the keyboard, and the blocks form as you type letters one by one.

If you are not ready to type, the practice area lets you build the same blocks by choosing letters, which is a good way to learn the shapes first.

Each letter page shows the stroke order one stroke at a time, and a tracing pad lets you follow the strokes with a finger or a pen. Write from top to bottom and from left to right, and keep each block inside an imaginary square.

Blocks with many parts, such as 강, are easier if you write the consonant first, then the vowel, then the final.

Spend a few minutes building the fourteen starter blocks, 가, 나, 다, 라, 마, 바, 사, 아, 자, 차, 카, 타, 파 and 하, then try the same consonants with a different vowel.

Start with open syllables, where the block has no final: 가 (ga), 나 (na), 다 (da), 마 (ma) and 사 (sa) all use ㅏ, so only the first consonant changes. Then keep the consonant and change the vowel: 고 (go), 구 (gu) and 기 (gi) show how a flat vowel sits under the consonant and a tall one stands beside it.

Move on to closed syllables, which have a final consonant: 한 (han) is ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ, 글 (geul) is ㄱ + ㅡ + ㄹ and 밥 (bap) is ㅂ + ㅏ + ㅂ. Put 한 and 글 side by side and you have 한글 (hangeul), the name of the alphabet itself.

To check yourself, say the reading aloud before you press the sound button. If a block sounds different from its spelling, as 꽃 (kkot) does with its final ㅊ read as a short t, open that letter's page and read the section on the end of a syllable.