Hangeul Advanced

In Part I - Hangeul Basics you learned about the basics and the different elements of Hangeul, called "Radicals". But we have no clue on how to combine them. So let's learn that!

📄 From Radicals to Blocks

The so called "Radicals" are never used alone. They are put into blocks with the following characteristics:

• A block consists of two to six letters, including at least one consonant and one vowel.

• Every block starts with a vowel. If you want to begin with a consonant, you put the silent vowel "ㅇ" at first place. For example, the letter "a" is written as "아".

• If your word begins with a consonant, you begin directly with a consonant. For example, "pa" is 파.

• The blocks are read first from left to right and then from top to bottom. For example, 물 is read from top down as following: ㅁ > ㅜ > ㄹ, wich is "mul". 살 is read from left to right and then down, so ㅅ ㅏ ㄹ, which is "sal".

Right now it seems like this order is random, but in fact it is not, and you will get used to it really quickly.

Combining Vowels and Consonants

Now how do you combine vowels and consonants into syllable blocks? Turns out there are two directions for vowels, the vertical vowels (ㅏ,ㅓ,ㅣ,ㅔ,ㅐ,ㅕ,ㅑ,ㅖ,ㅒ) and the horizontal vowels (ㅗ,ㅜ,ㅡ,ㅠ,ㅛ). If you look at them, it should make sense which are which.

Now there are two situations where you combine vowels and consonants differently:

1. In a syllable that consists of a consonant and a vertical vowel, you put the consonant on the left and the vowel on the right.

   Examples:
   ㄱ + ㅏ = 가
   ㄴ + ㅣ = 니
   ㅁ + ㅓ = 머
   ㄹ + ㅕ = 려  

2. In a syllable that consists of a consonant and a horizontal vowel, you put the consonant on the top and the vowel on the bottom.

   Examples:
   ㄱ + ㅗ = 고
   ㄴ + ㅜ = 누
   ㅁ + ㅡ = 므
   ㄹ + ㅛ = 료

Now a syllable can also end with another consonant. In this case, the ending consonant goes to the bottom of the syllable in all cases:

Examples:
고 + ㄱ = 곡
가 + ㄴ = 간
므 + ㄹ = 믈
려 + ㄱ = 력

More Advanced Combinations

Above you learned the basic combinations of vowels and consonants. Now there are certain Hangeul radicals, which are a little bit harder to combine. But it's still not so hard. Look at the example, and you quickly understand how they are combined.

Examples:
ㄱ + ㅙ = 괘 
ㄴ + ㅢ = 늬
ㅈ + ㅗ + ㅎ = 좋 (basic rule from above , but looks complicated)
ㅌ + ㅙ + ㄱ = 퇙 

🎮 Time to practice!

In the quiz linked below you learn how to read blocks and you have to guess the roman equivalent to the characters.

Next: Hangeul Expert