Korean Basics · Notes

1. Hangul Overview

Hangul is the Korean writing system. It is alphabetic, but letters are grouped into square syllable blocks that look like characters.

Each block usually contains an initial consonant, a vowel, and sometimes a final consonant.
Example: 한 = ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ.
Learning Hangul first is essential because Korean is best learned through its own script rather than romanization.

Korean pronunciation is fairly regular once you know the sound values of the letters, though batchim and sound changes require practice.

ㅏ sounds like "a" in "father," ㅓ is a more open "uh," and ㅗ/ㅜ are rounded vowels.
Some consonants come in plain, tense, and aspirated sets, such as ㄱ, ㄲ, ㅋ.
Romanization is only approximate and often hides important distinctions.

A consonant at the bottom of a syllable block is called batchim. Final consonants are often pronounced differently from their initial forms.

Not all written final consonants are fully released in speech.
Sound changes often happen when the next syllable starts with a vowel.
Careful listening is important because spelling and pronunciation do not always match one-to-one.

Korean typically follows Subject-Object-Verb order, and the verb usually comes at the end of the sentence.

Particles attach to nouns and show grammatical role, topic, location, direction, and more.

은/는 often introduces contrast or sets the topic, while 이/가 more directly marks the grammatical subject or introduces new information.

The copula is used to say that something is something, and verbs are conjugated for politeness and tense.

Korean has speech levels. Beginners usually start with the polite style ending in -아요/-어요 or set phrases like -이에요/-예요.

Many everyday verbs are conjugated into the polite present by attaching endings such as -아요 or -어요, depending on the verb stem.

Korean uses two number systems: native Korean numbers and Sino-Korean numbers. Both are common in daily life.

Native Korean numbers are often used for counting people, objects, and age in casual contexts.
Sino-Korean numbers are often used for dates, money, minutes, addresses, and phone numbers.
Choosing the correct system depends on the counter or context.

When counting nouns, Korean usually uses a counter word after the number.

High-frequency phrases help beginners communicate before they fully understand grammar.

Strong early progress comes from combining script study, audio exposure, sentence practice, and spaced repetition.

Master Hangul first until reading syllable blocks feels automatic.
Memorize useful phrases together with pronunciation, not just translations.
Practice short model sentences and swap nouns and verbs to build flexibility.
Listen repeatedly to beginner Korean audio to internalize rhythm and pronunciation.