Consonants & Vowels - The Building Blocks of Hangul
Hangul (한글) is made up of 40 letters: 19 consonants (14 basic + 5 double) and 21 vowels (10 basic + 11 compound). These letters combine to form syllable blocks, which is what makes Korean writing unique and beautiful!
Unlike English where letters are written in a line, Korean characters are arranged in blocks that represent syllables.
Consonants are sounds that are made by blocking or limiting airflow. Click a card to see the stroke order and hear its pronunciation!
Vowels are sounds made with an open vocal tract. Korean vowels are based on three fundamental principles: heaven (•), earth (ㅡ), and human (ㅣ). Click a card to learn how to write it!
Five consonants can be doubled to make tense sounds — pronounced with a tight throat and no puff of air. Click a card for stroke order and sound.
Eleven more vowels are built by combining the basic ones — this completes all 40 Hangul letters. Click a card for stroke order and sound.
Good news: in modern Seoul speech, ㅐ = ㅔ and ㅒ = ㅖ sound the same, and ㅙ = ㅚ = ㅞ are nearly identical — you mostly need to remember their spellings.
Many Korean consonants come in three strengths: plain, aspirated (with a puff of air), and tense (tight and sharp). Click each syllable to hear the difference:
| Family | plain · aspirated · tense |
|---|---|
| ㄱ · ㅋ · ㄲ | 가카까 |
| ㄷ · ㅌ · ㄸ | 다타따 |
| ㅂ · ㅍ · ㅃ | 바파빠 |
| ㅅ · ㅆ | 사싸 |
| ㅈ · ㅊ · ㅉ | 자차짜 |
Hold your palm in front of your mouth: aspirated sounds (카, 타, 파, 차) push out air; tense sounds (까, 따, 빠, 싸, 짜) don't — the tension is in your throat.
Now that you know consonants and vowels, let's understand how they work together:
Consonant + Vowel
Forms a syllable block
Syllables form words
Ready to learn how consonants and vowels combine? Let's move to syllable formation!