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Korean: spelling → sound

Hangul is an alphabet — 14 consonants and 10 vowels, plus the doubled and compound letters — whose letters are stacked into syllable blocks: 한 is ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ. The letters are honest; the seams between syllables are where the work is. A final consonant is unreleased (ㅂ ㄷ ㄱ ㅁ ㄴ ㅇ ㄹ are the only seven sounds a syllable may end in, however it is spelled), but it moves onto a following vowel with its full value (밥이 'rice' + subject = 바비), turns nasal before a nasal (국물 = 궁물, 합니다 = 함니다), tenses the plain consonant after it (학교 = 학꾜), and combines with ㅎ into an aspirate (좋다 = 조타). Korean has three kinds of every stop where English has two: plain ㅂ ㄷ ㄱ ㅈ (voiceless at the start of a word, voiced between vowels), aspirated ㅍ ㅌ ㅋ ㅊ, and TENSE ㅃ ㄸ ㄲ ㅉ, said with the throat stiffened and no puff. ㅅ is /s/ but /ɕ/ before i. The vowels are seven plus glides: ㅡ /ɯ/ is the unrounded u, ㅓ /ʌ/ the open unrounded o, and ㅐ/ㅔ have merged for anyone under sixty. No tones, no stress, no vowel reduction.

Trace a word

Every box is one rule firing. Hover a box (or open the table) to see why. Rules are applied in order, first match wins — that order is the spelling system. Type Hangul (감사합니다). The tracer takes each block apart into its letters and applies the sound changes between them — 학교 comes out with the tense k it is said with.

ᄒ

ᅡ

ᆫ

ᄀ

ᅮ

ᆨ

ᄋ

∅

ᅥ

Why each segment sounds like that

Letters	Sound	Rule
`ᄒ`	h ↗	default mapping
`ᅡ`	a ↗	default mapping
`ᆫ`	n ↗	default mapping
`ᄀ`	ɡ ↗	plain ㄱ is voiced between voiced sounds
`ᅮ`	u ↗	default mapping
`ᆨ`	ɡ ↗	liaison: a final consonant moves onto a following vowel, voiced (국이 kuɡi)
`ᄋ`	∅ (silent)	ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent — a placeholder for the vowel
`ᅥ`	ʌ ↗	ㅓ: an unrounded o (romanised eo)

Consonants & glides

IPA	Spelled	Example
p	ㅂ (initial), ㅂ ㅍ (final)	밥 pap cooked rice; a meal — Plain ㅂ: voiceless and lightly aspirated at the start of a word, voiced /b/ between voiced sounds (바보 pabo). As a final, unreleased — the lips close and stay closed.
b	ㅂ (between vowels)	바보 pabo fool — The same letter as /p/, voiced because it sits between vowels. Korean does not hear the difference; English does.
pʰ	ㅍ	팔 pʰal arm; eight — Aspirated — a strong puff of air. The p of English 'pot'.
p͈	ㅃ	빵 p͈aŋ bread — Tense: the throat stiffens, the release is sharp and there is no puff at all. The third kind of p. Also what plain ㅂ becomes after an obstruent (입구 ipk͈u).
t	ㄷ (initial), ㄷ ㅅ ㅆ ㅈ ㅊ ㅌ ㅎ (final)	닫다 tatt͈a to close — Plain ㄷ. As a FINAL, seven different letters all come out as this one unreleased t: 옷 ot, 낮 nat, 꽃 k͈ot, 밭 pat.
d	ㄷ (between vowels)	어디 ʌdi where — Plain ㄷ voiced between voiced sounds.
tʰ	ㅌ	토끼 tʰok͈i rabbit
t͈	ㄸ	딸기 t͈alɡi strawberry — Tense t. 달 tal 'moon', 탈 tʰal 'mask', 딸 t͈al 'daughter' — one triplet to hear the three-way contrast on.
k	ㄱ (initial), ㄱ ㄲ ㅋ (final)	국 kuk soup — Plain ㄱ, voiceless at the start of a word. As a final, unreleased — the back of the tongue closes and stays closed.
ɡ	ㄱ (between vowels)	고기 koɡi meat — Plain ㄱ voiced between voiced sounds — which is why the same word is romanised gogi and starts with a k-sound.
kʰ	ㅋ	코 kʰo nose
k͈	ㄲ	꽃 k͈ot flower — Tense k. Also what plain ㄱ becomes after an obstruent: 학교 hakk͈jo.
t͡ɕ	ㅈ (initial)	집 t͡ɕip house — Plain ㅈ — between English ch and j, with the tongue flat. Voiced to /d͡ʑ/ between vowels.
d͡ʑ	ㅈ (between vowels)	아주 ad͡ʑu very
t͡ɕʰ	ㅊ	차 t͡ɕʰa tea; car
t͡ɕ͈	ㅉ	짜다 t͡ɕ͈ada to be salty — Tense ㅈ.
s	ㅅ	사람 saɾam person — Slightly breathy. Before i and the y-vowels it is /ɕ/: 시 ɕi.
ɕ	ㅅ before i, y-vowels	시간 ɕiɡan time — The sh of Japanese shi, not the sh of English ship — tongue flat.
s͈	ㅆ	쌀 s͈al uncooked rice — Tense s: longer, harder, no breath. 살 sal 'flesh; to live' against 쌀 s͈al 'rice'.
h	ㅎ	하나 hana one — Often faint between vowels (좋아 t͡ɕoa has none left). Merges with a following plain stop into an aspirate: 좋다 t͡ɕotʰa.
m	ㅁ	물 mul water
n	ㄴ	나 na I (plain)
ŋ	ㅇ (final)	강 kaŋ river — ㅇ is /ŋ/ at the END of a syllable and silent at the start — a placeholder that lets a vowel have a block to itself (아, 이, 오).
ɾ	ㄹ (initial, between vowels)	우리 uɾi we; our — A tap, like Spanish single r or the t in American 'water'.
l	ㄹ (final), ㄹㄹ	달 tal moon — The same letter is /l/ at the end of a syllable and /ll/ when doubled (몰라 molla). ㄴ next to ㄹ becomes ㄹ too: 신라 ɕilla.
j	ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ ㅒ ㅖ (the y-)	여자 jʌd͡ʑa woman — The y-vowels are a glide plus the plain vowel: ㅕ = j + ʌ. The extra stroke on the letter is the glide.
w	ㅘ ㅝ ㅙ ㅞ ㅚ ㅟ (the w-)	왜 we why — The w-vowels are written as two vowel letters stacked: ㅘ = ㅗ + ㅏ. ㅚ and ㅙ and ㅞ have all become /we/.

Vowels

IPA	Spelled	Example
a	ㅏ	나라 naɾa country
ʌ	ㅓ	서울 sʌul Seoul — An unrounded open o — the vowel of English 'cut' but further back. Romanised eo, which misleads everyone; it is one vowel.
o	ㅗ	오늘 onɯl today — Rounded, closed. Keep it apart from ㅓ: 손 son 'hand' against 선 sʌn 'line'.
u	ㅜ	우유 uju milk
ɯ	ㅡ	그 kɯ that; he — Say /u/ and spread the lips. Romanised eu. The same vowel as Japanese u and Vietnamese ư.
i	ㅣ	이 i this; two; tooth
e	ㅔ, ㅐ	네 ne yes — Two letters, one sound: ㅐ was the more open of the pair and Seoul has merged them. 개 'dog' and 게 'crab' are now homophones, and the spelling is memorised.

The rules, in order

108 rules. The left column is a pattern (regular expression) matched at the current position of the word; (?=…) looks ahead, (?<=…) looks behind, $ is the end of the word.

#	Pattern	Sound	Why
1	`ᆭ(?=ᄋ)`	n	ㄶ before a vowel: the ㅎ is silent, the ㄴ moves on (많아 mana)
2	`ᆶ(?=ᄋ)`	ɾ	ㅀ before a vowel: the ㅎ is silent, the ㄹ moves on as a tap (싫어 ɕiɾʌ)
3	`ᆰ(?=ᄋ)`	lɡ	ㄺ before a vowel: ㄹ stays, ㄱ moves on (읽어 ilɡʌ)
4	`ᆱ(?=ᄋ)`	lm
5	`ᆲ(?=ᄋ)`	lb
6	`ᆹ(?=ᄋ)`	ps	ㅄ before a vowel: both consonants are said (없어 ʌpsʌ)
7	`ᆬ(?=ᄋ)`	nd͡ʑ
8	`ᆪ(?=ᄋ)`	ks
9	`ᆮ(?=이)`	d͡ʑ	palatalisation: ㄷ + 이 is said 지 (굳이 kud͡ʑi)
10	`ᇀ(?=이)`	t͡ɕʰ	palatalisation: ㅌ + 이 is said 치 (같이 kat͡ɕʰi)
11	`ᇂ(?=ᄋ)`	∅	final ㅎ before a vowel is silent (좋아 t͡ɕoa)
12	`ᆨ(?=ᄋ)`	ɡ	liaison: a final consonant moves onto a following vowel, voiced (국이 kuɡi)
13	`ᆩ(?=ᄋ)`	k͈
14	`ᆿ(?=ᄋ)`	kʰ	liaison keeps the letter's full value (부엌에 puʌkʰe)
15	`ᆮ(?=ᄋ)`	d
16	`ᇀ(?=ᄋ)`	tʰ
17	`ᆺ(?=ᄋ[ᅵᅣᅧᅭᅲᅨᅤᅱ])`	ɕ	liaison: ㅅ before 이 is ɕ (옷이 oɕi)
18	`ᆺ(?=ᄋ)`	s
19	`ᆻ(?=ᄋ)`	s͈
20	`ᆽ(?=ᄋ)`	d͡ʑ
21	`ᆾ(?=ᄋ)`	t͡ɕʰ	liaison keeps the letter's full value (꽃이 k͈ot͡ɕʰi)
22	`ᆸ(?=ᄋ)`	b	liaison, voiced (밥이 pabi)
23	`ᇁ(?=ᄋ)`	pʰ
24	`ᆯ(?=ᄋ)`	ɾ	final ㄹ before a vowel becomes the tap (물이 muɾi)
25	`ᇂ(?=[ᄀᄃᄌᄇ])`	∅	final ㅎ + plain stop = one aspirated stop (좋다 t͡ɕotʰa)
26	`ᇂ(?=ᄉ)`	∅	final ㅎ + ㅅ = tense ㅆ (좋습니다 t͡ɕos͈ɯmnida)
27	`ᇂ(?=ᄂ)`	n	final ㅎ before ㄴ is said ㄴ (놓는 nonnɯn)
28	`ᆭ(?=[ᄀᄃᄌᄇ])`	n	ㄶ + plain stop: the ㅎ aspirates the stop (많다 mantʰa)
29	`ᆶ(?=[ᄀᄃᄌᄇ])`	l	ㅀ + plain stop: the ㅎ aspirates the stop (싫다 ɕiltʰa)
30	`(?<=ᇂ\|ᆭ\|ᆶ)ᄀ`	kʰ	aspirated by the ㅎ before it
31	`(?<=ᇂ\|ᆭ\|ᆶ)ᄃ`	tʰ	aspirated by the ㅎ before it
32	`(?<=ᇂ\|ᆭ\|ᆶ)ᄌ`	t͡ɕʰ	aspirated by the ㅎ before it
33	`(?<=ᇂ\|ᆭ\|ᆶ)ᄇ`	pʰ	aspirated by the ㅎ before it
34	`(?<=ᇂ)ᄉ`	s͈	tensed by the ㅎ before it
35	`[ᆨᆩᆿᆪᆰ](?=ᄒ)`	∅	final ㄱ + ㅎ = one aspirated ㅋ (축하 t͡ɕʰukʰa)
36	`[ᆸᇁᆹᆵ](?=ᄒ)`	∅	final ㅂ + ㅎ = one aspirated ㅍ (입학 ipʰak)
37	`[ᆮᆺᆻᆽᆾᇀᇂ](?=ᄒ)`	∅	final ㄷ/ㅅ/ㅈ + ㅎ = one aspirated ㅌ (못해 motʰe)
38	`(?<=[ᆨᆩᆿᆪᆰ])ᄒ`	kʰ	the ㅎ absorbed the stop before it
39	`(?<=[ᆸᇁᆹᆵ])ᄒ`	pʰ	the ㅎ absorbed the stop before it
40	`(?<=[ᆮᆺᆻᆽᆾᇀᇂ])ᄒ`	tʰ	the ㅎ absorbed the stop before it
41	`[ᆨᆩᆿᆪᆰ](?=[ᄂᄆ]\|ᄅ)`	ŋ	a stop before a nasal becomes the nasal at the same place: ㄱ → ㅇ (국물 kuŋmul)
42	`[ᆮᆺᆻᆽᆾᇀᇂ](?=[ᄂᄆ]\|ᄅ)`	n	ㄷ ㅅ ㅈ ㅊ ㅌ before a nasal → ㄴ (있는 innɯn)
43	`[ᆸᇁᆹᆵ](?=[ᄂᄆ]\|ᄅ)`	m	ㅂ before a nasal → ㅁ (합니다 hamnida)
44	`(?<=[ᆨᆩᆿᆪᆰᆮᆺᆻᆽᆾᇀᆸᇁᆹᆵ]\|ᆷ\|ᆼ)ᄅ`	n	ㄹ after a stop, ㅁ or ㅇ is said ㄴ (독립 toŋnip, 심리 ɕimni)
45	`ᆫ(?=ᄅ)`	l	ㄴ + ㄹ = ㄹㄹ (신라 ɕilla)
46	`(?<=ᆫ)ᄅ`	l	ㄴ + ㄹ = ㄹㄹ
47	`(?<=ᆯ)ᄂ`	l	ㄹ + ㄴ = ㄹㄹ (설날 sʌllal)
48	`(?<=ᆯ)ᄅ`	l	ㄹ + ㄹ = a long l, not a tap (몰라 molla)
49	`(?<=[ᆨᆩᆿᆪᆰᆮᆺᆻᆽᆾᇀᆸᇁᆹᆵ])ᄀ`	k͈	a plain consonant after a stop is TENSE (학교 hakk͈jo)
50	`(?<=[ᆨᆩᆿᆪᆰᆮᆺᆻᆽᆾᇀᆸᇁᆹᆵ])ᄃ`	t͈	tensed by the stop before it (닫다 tatt͈a)
51	`(?<=[ᆨᆩᆿᆪᆰᆮᆺᆻᆽᆾᇀᆸᇁᆹᆵ])ᄇ`	p͈	tensed by the stop before it (입구 ipk͈u)
52	`(?<=[ᆨᆩᆿᆪᆰᆮᆺᆻᆽᆾᇀᆸᇁᆹᆵ])ᄉ(?=[ᅵᅣᅧᅭᅲᅨᅤᅱ])`	ɕ͈	tensed by the stop before it
53	`(?<=[ᆨᆩᆿᆪᆰᆮᆺᆻᆽᆾᇀᆸᇁᆹᆵ])ᄉ`	s͈	tensed by the stop before it (학생 haks͈eŋ)
54	`(?<=[ᆨᆩᆿᆪᆰᆮᆺᆻᆽᆾᇀᆸᇁᆹᆵ])ᄌ`	t͡ɕ͈	tensed by the stop before it (맥주 mekt͡ɕ͈u)
55	`[ᆨᆩᆿᆪᆰ]`	k	final ㄱ ㄲ ㅋ ㄳ ㄺ: an unreleased k
56	`[ᆫᆬᆭ]`	n
57	`[ᆮᆺᆻᆽᆾᇀᇂ]`	t	final ㄷ ㅅ ㅆ ㅈ ㅊ ㅌ ㅎ: ALL an unreleased t (옷 낮 꽃 밭)
58	`[ᆯᆲᆳᆴᆶ]`	l	final ㄹ (and ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㅀ): l
59	`[ᆷᆱ]`	m
60	`[ᆸᇁᆹᆵ]`	p	final ㅂ ㅍ ㅄ ㄿ: an unreleased p
61	`ᆼ`	ŋ	ㅇ at the end of a syllable is ng
62	`(?<=[ᅡ-ᅵᆫᆯᆷᆼᆬᆭᆱᆲᆶ])ᄀ`	ɡ	plain ㄱ is voiced between voiced sounds
63	`(?<=[ᅡ-ᅵᆫᆯᆷᆼᆬᆭᆱᆲᆶ])ᄃ`	d	plain ㄷ is voiced between voiced sounds
64	`(?<=[ᅡ-ᅵᆫᆯᆷᆼᆬᆭᆱᆲᆶ])ᄇ`	b	plain ㅂ is voiced between voiced sounds
65	`(?<=[ᅡ-ᅵᆫᆯᆷᆼᆬᆭᆱᆲᆶ])ᄌ`	d͡ʑ	plain ㅈ is voiced between voiced sounds
66	`ᄀ`	k	plain ㄱ at the start of a word: voiceless, a light puff
67	`ᄁ`	k͈	ㄲ: tense
68	`ᄂ`	n
69	`ᄃ`	t	plain ㄷ at the start of a word: voiceless
70	`ᄄ`	t͈	ㄸ: tense
71	`ᄅ`	ɾ	ㄹ before a vowel is a tap
72	`ᄆ`	m
73	`ᄇ`	p	plain ㅂ at the start of a word: voiceless
74	`ᄈ`	p͈	ㅃ: tense
75	`ᄉ(?=[ᅵᅣᅧᅭᅲᅨᅤᅱ])`	ɕ	ㅅ before i or a y-vowel is ɕ (시 ɕi)
76	`ᄉ`	s
77	`ᄊ(?=[ᅵᅣᅧᅭᅲᅨᅤᅱ])`	ɕ͈	ㅆ before i: tense ɕ
78	`ᄊ`	s͈	ㅆ: tense s
79	`ᄋ`	∅	ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent — a placeholder for the vowel
80	`ᄌ`	t͡ɕ	plain ㅈ at the start of a word
81	`ᄍ`	t͡ɕ͈	ㅉ: tense
82	`ᄎ`	t͡ɕʰ	ㅊ: aspirated
83	`ᄏ`	kʰ	ㅋ: aspirated
84	`ᄐ`	tʰ	ㅌ: aspirated
85	`ᄑ`	pʰ	ㅍ: aspirated
86	`ᄒ`	h
87	`(?<=^ᄋ\| ᄋ)ᅴ`	ɯi	ㅢ at the start of a word: ɯ + i (의사 ɯisa)
88	`ᅴ`	i	ㅢ after a consonant, or later in a word, is just i (희망 himaŋ, 거의 kʌi)
89	`ᅡ`	a
90	`ᅢ`	e	ㅐ = ㅔ for Seoul speakers
91	`ᅣ`	ja
92	`ᅤ`	je
93	`ᅥ`	ʌ	ㅓ: an unrounded o (romanised eo)
94	`ᅦ`	e
95	`ᅧ`	jʌ
96	`ᅨ`	je
97	`ᅩ`	o
98	`ᅪ`	wa
99	`ᅫ`	we
100	`ᅬ`	we	ㅚ is said we
101	`ᅭ`	jo
102	`ᅮ`	u
103	`ᅯ`	wʌ
104	`ᅰ`	we
105	`ᅱ`	wi
106	`ᅲ`	ju
107	`ᅳ`	ɯ	ㅡ: u with the lips spread (romanised eu)
108	`ᅵ`	i