Korean Alphabet Basic Structure (Hangul)

1. Consonants (Basic)

Double consonants (Tense)

Letter Romanization Sound Example ㄲ kk tense “k” ㄸ tt tense “t” ㅃ pp tense “p” ㅆ ss tense “s” ㅉ jj tense “j”

2. Vowels (Basic)

Letter Romanization Sound Example ㅏ a “a” in father ㅑ ya “ya” in yard ㅓ eo “uh” in sun ㅕ yeo “yuh” ㅗ o “o” in go ㅛ yo “yo” in yonder ㅜ u “oo” in food ㅠ yu “you” ㅡ eu like “eu” in French “deux” ㅣ i “ee” in see

Complex vowels

Letter Romanization Sound Example ㅐ ae “e” in bet ㅔ e “e” in met ㅒ yae “ye” in yes ㅖ ye “ye” in yes ㅘ wa “wa” in water ㅙ wae “we” in wet ㅚ oe “we” in wet ㅝ wo “wo” in wonder ㅞ we “we” in wet ㅟ wi “we” in we ㅢ ui “ui” in French “lui”

3. Syllable Block Structure

Basic formula: [Initial Consonant] + [Vowel] + [Optional Final Consonant]
Examples:

Syllable Breakdown Romanization 한 ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ han 글 ㄱ + ㅡ + ㄹ geul 가 ㄱ + ㅏ ga 감 ㄱ + ㅏ + ㅁ gam 괴 ㄱ + ㅚ goe

4. Example Sentence (Grammar Structure)

Word order: Subject + Object + Verb (SOV)
Particles: 은/는 (topic), 이/가 (subject), 을/를 (object)
Politeness levels: -요 (polite), -니다 (formal), casual = no ending