1. Consonants (자음, Ja-eum) – 14 basic consonants
| Letter | Name (Korean) | Romanization | Approx. Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | 기역 (giyeok) | g/k | g as in go, k as in kite |
| ㄴ | 니은 (nieun) | n | n as in net |
| ㄷ | 디귿 (digeut) | d/t | d as in dog, t as in top |
| ㄹ | 리을 (rieul) | r/l | r as in radio, l as in lamp |
| ㅁ | 미음 (mieum) | m | m as in mom |
| ㅂ | 비읍 (bieup) | b/p | b as in boy, p as in pen |
| ㅅ | 시옷 (siot) | s | s as in sun (before i → [sh]) |
| ㅇ | 이응 (ieung) | ng/– | silent at start, ng as in song at the end |
| ㅈ | 지읒 (jieut) | j | j as in job |
| ㅊ | 치읓 (chieut) | ch | ch as in chop |
| ㅋ | 키읔 (kieuk) | kʰ | strong k (aspirated) |
| ㅌ | 티읕 (tieut) | tʰ | strong t (aspirated) |
| ㅍ | 피읖 (pieup) | pʰ | strong p (aspirated) |
| ㅎ | 히읗 (hieut) | h | h as in hat |
2. Vowels (모음, Mo-eum) – 10 basic vowels
| Letter | Name (Korean) | Romanization | Approx. Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅏ | 아 (a) | a | a as in father |
| ㅑ | 야 (ya) | ya | ya as in yacht |
| ㅓ | 어 (eo) | eo | similar to uh in sun |
| ㅕ | 여 (yeo) | yeo | yuh, as in young |
| ㅗ | 오 (o) | o | o as in go (shorter) |
| ㅛ | 요 (yo) | yo | yo as in yoga |
| ㅜ | 우 (u) | u | oo as in food |
| ㅠ | 유 (yu) | yu | you as in youth |
| ㅡ | 으 (eu) | eu | unique Korean sound, lips spread, like [ɯ] |
| ㅣ | 이 (i) | i | ee as in see |