Drawing
Draw ㄹ
In the course you draw each letter with your finger or mouse and the app checks its shape. Here you can trace over the template and see the order of the strokes.
Korean alphabet course
Learn hangul: read Korean by listening, drawing and typing
Hangul in 8 short blocks: you hear each letter, pick it out, build syllables with it on a Korean keyboard and draw it with your finger. From the first block you read real Korean words, not just single letters.
Hangul is one of the simplest alphabets in the world, and yet plenty of people get stuck on it for weeks. They learn 24 letters from a chart, then see 한글 and do not know where to start, because the letters stack into syllables like building blocks. And ㅂ, ㅍ and ㅃ sound almost the same to an English ear.
This course builds syllables and words from the very first lesson. You hear every letter, pick it out, type it and draw it, and minimal pairs train you to hear differences English does not make.
8blocks
36characters and sounds
156words to read
6kinds of exercise
Try the exercises
These are miniatures of the exercises in the course. Try them here, no account needed.
Listening
Which vowel do you hear?
Listen to the voice and pick the vowel. ㅓ and ㅗ are two shades of "o" that are easy to confuse, so the course puts them side by side.
Recognition
How do you read it?
You see a letter and pick its sound. ㅂ, ㅍ and ㅃ are a plain, an aspirated and a tense "p": three letters for what sounds like one.
ㅂ
Minimal pairs
Fire or grass?
ㅂ and ㅍ differ only by a puff of air, and it changes the word. Listen and pick which of the two you heard.
Korean keyboard
Type "butterfly"
In the course you type letter by letter and the keyboard stacks them into syllables, just like on a Korean phone. Type ㄴ ㅏ ㅂ ㅣ.
„butterfly”
Look-alikes
ㅏ or ㅓ?
a and eo are the same stroke with the short bar on a different side. The course shows them side by side before you start mixing them up.
The chart
Tap a character to hear it and see the order its strokes are written in.
The course, block by block
Hangul 1 — First vowels
Six basic vowels and the silent ㅇ that holds their place. Your first Korean words: 아이 (child) and 오이 (cucumber).
Hangul 2 — First consonants
ㄴ, ㅁ, ㄹ and ㅂ join the vowels: now you can read 나무 (tree), 머리 (head) and 바나나.
Hangul 3 — More consonants
ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅈ and ㅎ: with these you read most everyday syllables — 바다 (sea), 도시 (city), 하나 (one).
Hangul 4 — Y-vowels
One extra stroke adds a y: ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ. 우유 (milk), 여자 (woman), 요리 (cooking).
Hangul 5 — Consonants with a puff of air
ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅊ are ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ ㅈ with a puff of air. 커피, 피자, 토마토 — words you already know.
Hangul 6 — Final consonants (batchim)
A consonant can sit under a syllable and close it: 한국 (Korea), 사람 (person), 물 (water), 밥 (rice).
Hangul 7 — Vowel combinations
Vowels combine: ㅐ ㅔ and the w-sounds ㅘ ㅝ ㅚ ㅟ, plus ㅢ. 사과 (apple), 카페, 택시.
Hangul 8 — Tense consonants
Doubled letters are said tight, with no breath: 아빠 (dad), 빵 (bread), 꽃 (flower). And the last final consonants.
How it works
Every letter five ways
You meet each letter with a picture mnemonic, hear it, pick it out among look-alikes, type it and draw it. Each route fixes it from a different side.
Syllables and words from the first block
After six vowels you already read 아이 (child) and 오이 (cucumber). The course has 156 words, most of them from our Korean course for beginners, so you will meet them again later.
Differences English does not make
11 minimal pairs such as 달, 탈 and 딸 (moon, mask, daughter) train you to hear plain, aspirated and tense consonants, and the vowels ㅓ and ㅗ.
Reviews at the right moment
Letters that slip come back more often, the ones you know less often. You never have to decide what to review.
Who is it for
- You are starting Korean and want to learn the script properly instead of leaning on romanization.
- You listen to K-pop or watch K-dramas and want to read a title, a caption or a comment in Korean.
- You are going to Korea and want to read a sign, a menu and a subway station.
- You know the letters but get lost once they stack into syllables with a final consonant.
Method & curriculum
The course has 8 blocks. It starts with the basic vowels and the silent ㅇ, then adds consonants in groups, the "y" vowels (ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ) and the aspirated consonants (ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅊ).
One block covers consonants at the end of a syllable (batchim), and the last two cover compound vowels (ㅐ, ㅘ, ㅢ…) and tense consonants (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ). That makes 36 letters: 19 consonants and 17 vowels.
Each sound shows its official Revised Romanization, and after the alphabet you move on to our Korean course for beginners.
What users say
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Frequently asked questions
How many letters are in the Korean alphabet?
Hangul has 24 basic letters: 14 consonants and 10 vowels. To read you also need 5 double consonants and 11 compound vowels. The course teaches 36 letters: all the basic ones, all the double consonants and the 7 most common compound vowels. The rarer ㅒ, ㅖ, ㅙ and ㅞ come later, in the Korean course.
How long does it take to learn hangul?
The course has 8 short blocks. With ten to fifteen minutes a day most people finish it in one to two weeks, and they read their first words on day one.
How do you read hangul syllables?
Letters sit in square blocks: a consonant first, a vowel beside or below it, and sometimes a final consonant at the bottom (batchim). 한 is ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ. The course teaches this from the first block, and the Korean keyboard builds the syllables for you.
Do I need romanization?
No. Each sound shows its official romanization so you know what you are reading, but the goal is to read hangul without it.
Can I practise on my phone?
Yes. The script exercises work in the browser on your phone and in the iOS and Android apps, finger drawing included.
Is the course free?
You start for free and try the course with no risk. Full access to every course and collection is paid; see the pricing page for details.