[Learn Korean] #013 Building Syllable Blocks 1 (Basic Rules)

1. Introduction

Now that you know all Korean consonants (자음) and vowels (모음), the next step is learning how to combine them into syllable blocks (음절).
Hangeul is unique because letters are not written in a straight line, but are grouped into blocks.
Each block represents one syllable.

2. Basic Structure of a Block

A Korean syllable block always has at least two parts:

• One consonant (자음)

• One vowel (모음)

There are two main types of syllable structure:

1. Consonant + Vowel (CV)
   Example: 가 (ga), 나 (na), 다 (da)

2. Consonant + Vowel + Consonant (CVC)
   Example: 감 (gam), 손 (son), 밥 (bap)

3. Writing Rules

• The vowel decides the placement of the letters:

1. If the vowel is vertical (ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅣ) → it is written to the right of the consonant.
   Example: 가 (ga), 너 (neo), 미 (mi)

2. If the vowel is horizontal (ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ) → it is written below the consonant.
   Example: 고 (go), 누 (nu), 드 (deu)

3. If the syllable ends with a final consonant (받침) → the final consonant is placed at the bottom of the block.
   Example: 닭 (dak), 삶 (salm)

4. Examples

• 가 (ga) = C + V

• 각 (gak) = C + V + C

• 고 (go) = C + V

• 곡 (gok) = C + V + C

5. Exercises

1. Practice writing: 가, 나, 다, 라, 마, 바, 사.

2. Create new syllables by combining consonants and vowels you already know.

   • Example: ㄱ + ㅏ = 가, ㄱ + ㅗ = 고, ㄱ + ㅜ = 구.

3. Try reading these words:

   • 사람 (saram) = person

   • 바다 (bada) = sea

   • 한국 (hanguk) = Korea

6. Summary

Today, you learned the basic rules of building syllable blocks in Korean:

• CV (Consonant + Vowel)

• CVC (Consonant + Vowel + Consonant)

• Placement depends on whether the vowel is vertical or horizontal.

This is the foundation of reading and writing Korean words.