Hangul: the Korean alphabet and vowels
The history of Hangul, basic vowels, "y" vowels
Korean writing is Hangul (한글). It was created in the 15th century by King Sejong and his scholars (created in 1443 and proclaimed in 1446). The aim was that ordinary people could read easily. Hangul is very logical: you can learn to read in a few days.
Hangul is an alphabet: each letter is one sound. But the letters are grouped into syllable blocks, not lines (lesson 2).
Basic vowels
The vowels are built from three elements: ㆍ (heaven), ㅡ (earth), ㅣ (human).
| Letter | Sound | Memory aid |
|---|---|---|
| ㅏ | a | a stick, stroke to the right |
| ㅓ | eo (an open "o", "ɔ") | stroke to the left |
| ㅗ | o | stroke upwards |
| ㅜ | u | stroke downwards |
| ㅡ | eu (an "i" with spread lips) | a lying line |
| ㅣ | i | a standing line |
| ㅐ | ae (close to "e") | ㅏ + ㅣ |
| ㅔ | e | ㅓ + ㅣ |
💡 In modern Korean ㅐ and ㅔ sound almost the same.
"Y" vowels: add a second stroke
| Plain | + stroke | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| ㅏ a | ㅑ | ya |
| ㅓ eo | ㅕ | yeo |
| ㅗ o | ㅛ | yo |
| ㅜ u | ㅠ | yu |
The rule is very simple: one extra stroke — a "y" in front.
Writing order
Letters are written top to bottom and left to right. A vowel never stands alone — a consonant always comes first; the silent consonant ㅇ is used for that: 아 (a), 오 (o), 우 (u), 이 (i).
아이 a-i child
오이 o-i cucumber
우유 u-yu milk
여우 yeo-u fox