Here is the whole rule in one line: tall vowels stand to the right of the consonant, wide vowels lie underneath it. That is why Korean words look like little squares instead of a straight row of letters.
Jenny here. In Lesson 2 we learned eight consonants, and I promised we would fit them together this time. By the end of this page you will read 우리, 나무 and 바다 without help, and there is nothing new to memorise.
Why Korean stacks letters into blocks
Every Korean syllable is written as one square block, and every block is one beat. 나무 is two blocks, so two beats: na-mu.
Hangul is an alphabet, but it packages itself by syllable instead of running left to right forever. Where each letter sits inside the square is decided by one thing: the shape of the vowel.
Tall vowels go to the right
ㅏ, ㅓ and ㅣ have a long vertical line. They stand beside the consonant, on the right.
| Consonant | Vowel | Block | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄴ | ㅏ | 나 | na |
| ㅂ | ㅏ | 바 | ba |
| ㅁ | ㅣ | 미 | mi |
| ㅅ | ㅓ | 서 | seo |
Check yourself: ㄱ plus ㅏ gives 가, ga. If you put the ㄱ on top, look at the vowel again. ㅏ is tall, so the consonant moves aside.
Wide vowels go underneath
ㅗ, ㅜ and ㅡ have a long horizontal line. No room beside them, so the consonant sits on top.
| Consonant | Vowel | Block | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄴ | ㅗ | 노 | no |
| ㅁ | ㅜ | 무 | mu |
| ㄱ | ㅡ | 그 | geu |
| ㅂ | ㅜ | 부 | bu |
Small conclusion: you never have to guess the arrangement. Look at the vowel, decide tall or wide, and the block builds itself. If Lesson 2 feels far away, the eight consonants are laid out in Korean consonants for beginners, Lesson 2, and the vowels in Learn Korean Lesson 1.
Read your first real words
Put two blocks side by side. Read each slowly, then at speed.
| Word | Broken down | Romanized | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 우리 | ㅇ+ㅜ, ㄹ+ㅣ | uri | we, our |
| 나무 | ㄴ+ㅏ, ㅁ+ㅜ | namu | tree |
| 바다 | ㅂ+ㅏ, ㄷ+ㅏ | bada | sea |
| 고기 | ㄱ+ㅗ, ㄱ+ㅣ | gogi | meat |
Notice 우리. The first block starts with ㅇ, which makes no sound there. It is a placeholder, because a Korean block cannot open with a bare vowel. Written 우, pronounced u.
That one habit explains plenty of menu words. 우유 is uyu, milk. If food is what pulled you toward Korean, half the stall signs in our Korean street food guide are now within reach.
The third slot: batchim
Blocks can hold a third letter. A consonant parked at the bottom of the square is batchim 받침, meaning support, and it closes the syllable. 하 is ha, open. Add ㄴ underneath and you get 한, han.
| Block | Built from | Romanized | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 한국 | ㅎ+ㅏ+ㄴ, ㄱ+ㅜ+ㄱ | Hanguk | Korea, the country |
| 김밥 | ㄱ+ㅣ+ㅁ, ㅂ+ㅏ+ㅂ | gimbap | seaweed rice roll |
| 물 | ㅁ+ㅜ+ㄹ | mul | water |
| 사랑 | ㅅ+ㅏ, ㄹ+ㅏ+ㅇ | sarang | love |
The ㅇ that changes job
ㅇ is the only letter with two jobs, and position decides which. At the front of a block it is silent. At the bottom it is a real sound: ng. That is why 사랑 is sarang, not sara.
Watch out: beginners read the bottom ㅇ as silent too and drop the ending. Hold the ng for a moment and it sounds right.
Romanization here follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, the official system from the National Institute of Korean Language. Worth knowing, because older spellings such as Pusan for Busan still turn up.
Reference: National Institute of Korean Language, Romanization of Korean
Quick practice
Cover the answers and read these aloud. All four use letters from Lessons 1 to 3.
- 가구 … ga-gu, furniture
- 어머니 … eo-meo-ni, mother
- 산 … san, mountain
- 이름 … i-reum, name
Lesson 3 in six lines
- One block is one syllable and one beat
- Tall vowels ㅏ ㅓ ㅣ stand to the right of the consonant
- Wide vowels ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ sit underneath it
- A block cannot open with a bare vowel, so silent ㅇ fills the slot
- A third consonant at the bottom is batchim 받침, and it closes the syllable
- Bottom ㅇ is not silent. It is ng
Frequently asked questions
Q. How do I know whether the consonant goes left or on top?
A. Look at the vowel, never at the consonant. If the vowel has a long vertical line, such as ㅏ, ㅓ or ㅣ, it is tall, and the consonant stands to its left so the two sit side by side. If it has a long horizontal line, such as ㅗ, ㅜ or ㅡ, it is wide, and the consonant goes on top with the vowel underneath.
Q. Why does 우리 start with ㅇ if the letter makes no sound?
A. Because a Korean syllable block cannot begin with a bare vowel. Every block needs something in the first consonant slot, so ㅇ fills it as a silent placeholder and you read straight through to the vowel. That makes 우 simply u. The same letter becomes a real sound, ng, when it sits at the bottom of a block instead, as in 사랑, sarang.
Q. Do I need to memorise batchim rules before I can read?
A. No. For reading, treat batchim as one extra consonant at the bottom of the square and pronounce it plainly. That carries you through 한국, 김밥 and 물. Sound change rules exist for when one block ends in a consonant and the next starts with a vowel, but they only matter for sentences.
Homework is small on purpose. Find any Korean sign or album cover, pick one word, and split it into blocks. You do not need to understand it, only to spot the pieces, because recognition is what has to become automatic. Menus are the easiest start, and the ones in our convenience store guide are short and repetitive.
Next time, Lesson 4: the aspirated and tense consonants ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅊ and ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ, and why 달, 탈 and 딸 are three words.
You might also like
- Learn Korean Lesson 1, read your first Hangul letters
- Korean consonants for beginners, Lesson 2
- Korean street food, what to try first and how to order
- Korean convenience store food, what to try first
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