Hangul, the Korean alphabet, has 24 basic letters: 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Unlike English, where "alphabet order" doesn't map neatly to how sounds are grouped, Hangul's letters were designed together as a system in the 1440s — so once a child learns the pattern, the rest tends to click faster than expected.
The 14 basic consonants (자음)
| Letter | Sounds like | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | g / k | Like 'g' in "go" |
| ㄴ | n | Like 'n' in "no" |
| ㄷ | d / t | Like 'd' in "dog" |
| ㄹ | r / l | Between 'r' and 'l' |
| ㅁ | m | Like 'm' in "mom" |
| ㅂ | b / p | Like 'b' in "boy" |
| ㅅ | s | Like 's' in "sun" |
| ㅇ | — / ng | Silent at the start, 'ng' at the end of a syllable |
| ㅈ | j | Like 'j' in "jam" |
| ㅊ | ch | Like 'ch' in "chip", with a puff of air |
| ㅋ | k | Like 'k' in "kite", with a puff of air |
| ㅌ | t | Like 't' in "top", with a puff of air |
| ㅍ | p | Like 'p' in "pot", with a puff of air |
| ㅎ | h | Like 'h' in "hat" |
The 10 basic vowels (모음)
| Letter | Sounds like | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ㅏ | a | Like 'a' in "father" |
| ㅑ | ya | Like 'ya' in "yard" |
| ㅓ | eo | Like 'o' in "hot" |
| ㅕ | yeo | 'y' + the 'eo' sound |
| ㅗ | o | Like 'o' in "go" |
| ㅛ | yo | Like 'yo' in "yo-yo" |
| ㅜ | u | Like 'oo' in "moon" |
| ㅠ | yu | Like 'you' |
| ㅡ | eu | Like 'oo' in "book", said flat |
| ㅣ | i | Like 'ee' in "see" |
How the letters combine into syllables
Hangul isn't written letter-by-letter in a line like English — it's written in stacked syllable blocks. Each block needs at least one consonant and one vowel: 가 (ga) combines ㄱ (g) and ㅏ (a). Add a third letter underneath for a closing consonant sound: 강 (gang) adds ㅇ (ng) below 가. This block system is part of why Hangul reads faster once it clicks — a whole syllable is one visual unit, not a string of separate letters.
A good learning order for kids
Rather than memorizing all 24 in dictionary order, start with the most visually distinct letters first — ㅇ, ㅁ, ㄴ, ㅏ, and ㅣ are a good starting set, since they're simple shapes that are easy to tell apart and combine into a first real syllable. Add two or three new letters a week from there. For a fuller walkthrough of pacing and activities, see how to teach Hangul to a preschooler.
Korean for Kids: Learn Hangul teaches all 24 letters in this order, with native audio and guided finger-tracing for each one — designed for children with no prior knowledge of Korean. See the full feature list or the FAQ for details.