How to Read Hangul: From Creation to Real Pronunciation

Hangul (한글), the Korean writing system, is one of the most logical and learner-friendly alphabets in the world. In this guide, you’ll not only learn how Hangul is structured and pronounced, but also discover hidden pronunciation rules that native speakers often use without realizing.

If this guide feels too complicated for you, I have a simple beginner friendly version!

0. The Origin of Hangul: Hunminjeongeum and King Sejong

Before Hangul was invented, Koreans used adapted Chinese characters in systems like Idu (이두) and Hyangchal (향찰). These were difficult to learn and mainly used by scholars.

To promote literacy, King Sejong the Great (세종대왕) created Hangul in 1443 and published it in 1446 as Hunminjeongeum (훈민정음) — “The correct sounds for the instruction of the people.”

1. The Basic Letters: Consonants and Vowels

Hangul is made up of:

14 consonants: ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅎ
10 vowels: ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅣ, ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ

These letters are combined into square-shaped syllable blocks.

2. Consonant Design: Shape of the Mouth

Consonants were designed to reflect the shape of the speech organ when pronouncing them:

ㄱ: back of tongue blocks throat
ㄴ: tongue tip touches upper gum
ㅁ: lips are closed
ㅅ: resembles teeth
ㅇ: shape of the throat

Other consonants are created by adding strokes to these basic forms.

3. Vowel Design: Cheonjiin (Heaven, Earth, Human)

Vowels are based on the philosophical concept of Cheonjiin (천지인) — meaning Heaven (•), Earth (ㅡ), and Human (ㅣ).

These three basic symbols combine to form vowel letters. For example:

ㅏ = ㅣ with a short stroke to the right
ㅓ = ㅣ with a short stroke to the left
ㅗ = ㅡ with a short stroke above
ㅜ = ㅡ with a short stroke below

4. Writing Syllables and Stroke Order

Syllables are made by combining:

CV (Consonant + Vowel): 가, 너
CVC (Consonant + Vowel + Final): 밥, 말

Syllables are written:

Top to bottom
Left to right

Following correct stroke order helps maintain clean writing.

5. Tense Consonants (쌍자음)

Tense consonants are:

ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ

They are pronounced with extra tension and no aspiration. You can find similar “strong” sounds in some languages such as Spanish, Hindi, Tagalog, etc. You may also hear similar sounds in English — depending on the accent. For example:

“K” in skate → ㄲ
“T” in stop → ㄸ

6. Compound Vowels (Diphthongs)

Diphthongs combine two vowels:

ㅘ, ㅝ, ㅢ, ㅙ, ㅞ, ㅚ, ㅟ, ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅒ, ㅖ

Vowels like ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ are not diphthongs, but glide vowels with a [y] sound at the beginning.

7. Pronunciation of All Basic Sounds

Here is a general guide to how each Hangul consonant and vowel is typically pronounced. To make it accessible, both the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) and basic Romanization are included. These are the most common default pronunciations — they may vary slightly depending on position, accent, or speech speed.

Consonants (자음)

ㄱ: [k~g] — g/k (sounds like between g and k)
ㄴ: [n] — n
ㄷ: [d~t] — d/t (sounds like between d and t)
ㄹ: [ɾ~l] — r/l (r sound doesn’t exist in Korean)
ㅁ: [m] — m
ㅂ: [b~p] — b/p (sounds like between b and p)
ㅅ: [s] — s
ㅇ: [ŋ] in final position — ng; silent at the beginning
ㅈ: [tɕ~dʑ] — j
ㅊ: [tɕʰ] — ch
ㅋ: [kʰ] — k
ㅌ: [tʰ] — t
ㅍ: [pʰ] — p
ㅎ: [h] — h

Tense Consonants (쌍자음)

ㄲ: [k͈] — kk
ㄸ: [t͈] — tt
ㅃ: [p͈] — pp
ㅆ: [s͈] — ss
ㅉ: [t͈ɕ] — jj

Vowels (모음)

ㅏ: [a] — a
ㅓ: [ʌ] — eo
ㅗ: [o] — o
ㅜ: [u] — u
ㅡ: [ɯ] — eu
ㅣ: [i] — i

Glide and Compound Vowels

ㅑ: [ja] — ya
ㅕ: [jʌ] — yeo
ㅛ: [jo] — yo
ㅠ: [ju] — yu
ㅐ: [ɛ] — ae
ㅔ: [e] — e
ㅒ: [jɛ] — yae
ㅖ: [je] — ye
ㅘ: [wa] — wa
ㅝ: [wʌ] — wo
ㅙ: [wɛ] — wae
ㅞ: [we] — we
ㅚ: [we]/[ø] — oe
ㅟ: [wi] — wi
ㅢ: [ɰi] — ui

7-1. Consonant Families by Articulation

Korean consonants are grouped by where and how they are produced in the mouth. This helps explain why some letters behave similarly in pronunciation rules.

Here are some common groups:

Alveolar sounds (tongue against upper gum):
ㄴ, ㄷ, ㅌ, ㄸ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㄹ
→ These sounds are made by touching the tongue to the ridge behind your upper teeth.
Velar sounds (back of the tongue against the soft palate):
ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ, ㅇ
→ Made near the back of the mouth.
Bilabial sounds (using both lips):
ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅍ, ㅃ
→ Made by pressing the lips together.
Palatal sounds (tongue close to the hard palate):
ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅉ
→ Made near the front roof of the mouth.
Glottal sound:
ㅎ
→ Made with the glottis (throat area).

These groupings also explain why certain assimilation or simplification rules occur, such as ㄷ turning into ㄴ before another ㄴ (because they’re both alveolar).

7-2. The Role of ㅇ

At the start of a syllable: ㅇ is silent (e.g., 아, 어)
At the end: ㅇ is pronounced “ng” (e.g., 방, 공)

A Note on Aspiration and Voice Onset Time (VOT)

Voice Onset Time (VOT) refers to the delay between releasing a consonant and the start of vocal cord vibration. In Korean, this helps explain the three types of stop consonants:

예사소리 (Plain): ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ — soft, no strong burst of air
거센소리 (Aspirated): ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ — strong burst of air
된소리 (Tense): ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ — tight, quick, tense articulation

Korean learners must develop an ear for these contrasts, as they are crucial for distinguishing meaning.

7-3. Final Sound Simplification

When consonants appear at the end of a syllable (받침), their pronunciation is simplified to seven final sounds:

ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ → [ㄱ]
ㄴ → [ㄴ]
ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ, ㅆ, ㅎ → [ㄷ]
ㄹ → [ㄹ]
ㅁ → [ㅁ]
ㅂ, ㅍ → [ㅂ]
ㅇ → [ㅇ]

Mnemonic Tip: 그녀 다리만 보여 — helps remember ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅇ

7-4. Double Final Consonants (겹받침)

In Korean, some syllables end with two consonants, known as 겹받침 (double final consonants). Examples include 앉 (ㄴ + ㅈ), 많 (ㄴ + ㅎ), and 읽 (ㄹ + ㄱ).

These double final consonants follow specific pronunciation rules depending on the following syllable:

Rule 1: When the next syllable starts with ㅇ (a silent placeholder)

The second consonant moves to the next syllable to fill the initial consonant position.

앉아 → [안자]
읽어 → [일거]

Rule 2: When followed by another consonant

The pronunciation involves two phonological processes:

Consonant cluster simplification (자음군 단순화): One of the two final consonants is dropped.
Consonant assimilation (자음 동화): The remaining consonant may change to match the following consonant’s place or manner of articulation.

Examples:

앉다 → [안따] (ㅈ becomes ㄷ, then triggers tense ㄸ)
많다 → [만타] (ㅎ causes aspiration in ㅌ)
읽다 → [익따] (ㄹ + ㄱ becomes ㄱ, then triggers ㄸ)
밟다 → [밥따] (ㄹ is dropped, ㅂ triggers ㄸ)

These changes make pronunciation smoother and are natural in Korean speech.

7-5. Word-initial Consonant Reality

At the beginning of a word or syllable, Korean consonants like ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅈ are written as if they are voiced (g, d, b, j), but they are actually pronounced as voiceless, unaspirated stops.

김밥 is pronounced [kimbap], not [gimbap].
바다 is pronounced [pada], not [bada].

These sounds are softer than their aspirated counterparts (ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅊ) but are not voiced like in English. This subtle difference is important for accurate pronunciation.

Aspiration and VOT (Voice Onset Time)

Voice Onset Time (VOT) refers to the time between the release of a consonant and the start of vocal cord vibration.

Korean has a three-way distinction:

Plain sounds (예사소리): ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ – short VOT, soft and voiceless.
Aspirated sounds (거센소리): ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ – long VOT, strong burst of air.
Tense sounds (된소리): ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ – near-zero or negative VOT, tight articulation.

Understanding VOT helps in distinguishing these consonant types and achieving native-like pronunciation.

Final Thoughts

Hangul is a writing system designed to reflect the sounds of spoken Korean accurately. Its structure and rules are grounded in phonology and morphology, making it logical and learnable. By understanding these principles, learners can appreciate the elegance of Hangul and achieve proficiency in reading and pronunciation.