Korean alphabet chart (한글) — all 24 letters on one page, for total beginners

The short answer: The Korean alphabet, 한글 (Hangeul), has 24 basic letters: 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Korea's official spelling rules list exactly these 24. You put the letters together in small square blocks, and each block is one syllable.

That's the whole system. Most people can read simple words after an afternoon of practice. Let's try it with one page.

Wait, only 24 letters?

Yes. English has 26, so you're already in familiar territory.

Korea's spelling rules, 한글 맞춤법, start their letter section with one line: "The number of letters is 24." Then they give the order and the names. That's the list in the two charts below.

There are also a few combined letters. They are built from the basic 24, so you don't need new shapes for them. We'll get to them in a minute.

Chart 1: the 14 consonants

The sound column uses the official Revised Romanization. Some letters sound a little different at the start and at the end of a block, so they have two spellings.

Look for families. ㄱ gets one extra line and becomes ㅋ, a stronger "k" with a puff of air. ㄷ becomes ㅌ, ㅂ becomes ㅍ, and ㅈ becomes ㅊ the same way. Learn four shapes, and you get eight letters.

Chart 2: the 10 vowels

See the pattern? One short stroke is a plain vowel. Two strokes add a "y" sound. ㅏ is a, ㅑ is ya. ㅗ is o, ㅛ is yo.

The vowels are built from three ideas: a dot for the sky, a flat line for the earth and a standing line for a person. Our Hangeul Day story tells you where those shapes came from.

How do letters become a word?

You stack them. Every block needs a vowel, and it starts with a consonant.

• Tall vowels like ㅏ and ㅣ go on the right: ㄴ + ㅏ = 나 (na).
• Flat vowels like ㅗ and ㅜ go under the consonant: ㄴ + ㅗ = 노 (no).
• No consonant sound at the start? Put the silent ㅇ there as a placeholder: ㅇ + ㅏ = 아 (a).

A block can also have a consonant at the bottom. That bottom letter is called 받침 (batchim). 한 = ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ, so it reads han. Bottom letters can change sound, and our batchim sound rules explain the tricky ones.

Now try it. 한 + 국 = 한국 (Hanguk), "Korea." 엄 + 마 = 엄마 (eomma), "mom." You just read two real words.

Easy mistakes

Reading ㅇ as an "o." At the start of a block it's silent. 아 is just a. The "o" sound is the vowel ㅗ.

Mixing up ㅓ and ㅗ. Both are written "eo" and "o" in English letters, but they sound different. ㅓ is open, like the "u" in "up." ㅗ is round, like "oh."

Trusting romanization too much. English letters are a bridge, not the real thing. Our romanization guide shows why 김밥 is written gimbap, not kimbab.

What about ㄲ, ㅐ and the others?

These are the combined letters. The official rules list them right after the basic 24.

Here's a fun fact. When King Sejong first made the alphabet, there were 28 letters. Four of them dropped out of use over time, which is why we have 24 today.

Our tip: learn the 24 first, and treat the combined letters as pairs of things you already know.

Quick check

1. How do you read 나무?
2. In 아이, what sound does ㅇ make?
3. Which letter is a stronger, breathier ㄱ?

Answers: 1. namu ("tree"). 2. None, it's silent at the start. 3. ㅋ.

Now you can read the Korean words in the daily game, too. Try today's 5 and see how many you can sound out.

In one line: 14 consonants and 10 vowels, stacked into square blocks, and you're reading Korean.