Hangul — a featural alphabet that draws syllables
Korean is written in 한글 (Hangul), an alphabet of about 24 basic letters invented in the 15th century. Unlike English, the letters don't run in a line — they cluster into square syllable blocks. Every block has a first consonant + vowel and may add a final consonant underneath or to the side. So 안 is one syllable: ㅇ + ㅏ + ㄴ. Read top-to-bottom, left-to-right inside the block, then move on to the next block. Once you can decode a block, you can read any Korean word out loud.
Ten basic consonants
Start with these ten: ㄱ (g/k), ㄴ (n), ㄷ (d/t), ㄹ (r/l), ㅁ (m), ㅂ (b/p), ㅅ (s), ㅇ (silent at the start of a syllable, 'ng' at the end), ㅈ (j), ㅎ (h). The letters are pictograms of the mouth — ㄱ shows the back of the tongue raised, ㄴ the tongue tip touching the ridge, ㅁ closed lips. Most have two English-ish sounds depending on position; don't worry about the detail yet, just learn the shape and one main sound.
Six basic vowels
The vowel skeleton is built from a long line plus short ticks. ㅏ (a, like 'ah'), ㅓ (eo, like 'uh'), ㅗ (o, like 'oh'), ㅜ (u, like 'oo'), ㅡ (eu, a flat 'uh' with spread lips), ㅣ (i, 'ee'). Vertical vowels (ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅣ) sit to the right of the initial consonant. Horizontal vowels (ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ) sit underneath. That layout is the only thing you need to predict where a vowel goes inside a block.
How a block snaps together
Every syllable starts with a consonant slot — even when the syllable is just a vowel. That's what the silent ㅇ is for: it's a placeholder. 아 is just 'a' (ㅇ + ㅏ); 오 is just 'o' (ㅇ + ㅗ). Add a final consonant (called 받침, 'support') below: 안 is a + n, 앙 is a + ng (the ㅇ at the bottom IS pronounced 'ng'). So 안녕 reads as 안 (an) + 녕 (nyeong) = annyeong.
Two greetings, two levels of formality
Korean choices about politeness aren't optional — built into the verb every time you speak. The everyday polite greeting is 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo) — use it with strangers, shopkeepers, classmates, and anyone older or you don't know well. The casual version is just 안녕 (annyeong) — use it with close friends and children. Both literally mean 'be at peace'. Same word 안녕 can also mean 'bye' to a close friend — context tells you which. When in doubt as a learner: pick the polite 안녕하세요.
Spaces and punctuation
Korean uses spaces between 어절 (eojeol) — chunks of word + particle, roughly. Sentences end with a regular period. Question marks and exclamation points work like English. You'll see Hangul written without any Chinese characters in everyday text — modern Korean is Hangul-only outside of specialized academic or legal writing.
The full consonant set
All 14 basic consonants — copy them into your notebook; later lessons use every one of them. Tap a cell to hear it.
Doubled (tense) consonants
Five consonants double up for a tenser, sharper sound:
The full vowel set
The 10 basic vowels:
Compound vowels
And the compounds you'll meet soon:
