Lesson Objectives
- Understand the three syllable block shapes used in Hangul
- Build syllables from scratch using any consonant + vowel combination
- Recognise how the vowel determines the block layout
- Read a full row of the Korean syllable chart (가나다라…)
- Sound out 12 real Korean words by breaking them into blocks
Quick recall from Lessons 1–3
All 24 letters. Before reading on — say the sound for each one: ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ · 아 야 어 여 오 요 우 유 으 이. If any feel slow, note them down — they're the ones to drill today.
One Rule That Governs Everything
Korean is never written letter by letter in a row. Every syllable is compressed into a square block. You already know the letters — now you just need to know how they fit together.
There are three block shapes. That's all. Once you have these, you can write any Korean syllable.
Shape 1 · Shape 2 · Shape 3
Shape 1 — C + Vertical Vowel
"ga"
Vertical vowels (아 야 어 여 이) sit to the right.
Shape 2 — C + Horizontal Vowel
"go"
Horizontal vowels (오 요 우 유 으) sit below.
Shape 3 — C + V + Final C (받침)
"han"
Final consonant always goes underneath.
The 가나다라 Table
This is how Korean children learn to read. Each cell is a consonant + vowel combination. Reading this table fluently means you can sound out any 2-letter syllable in Korean. Click any cell to reveal its romanization.
👆 Click a cell to check your reading
| C \ V | 아 | 어 | 오 | 우 | 이 | 으 | 야 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | 가ga | 거geo | 고go | 구gu | 기gi | 그geu | 갸gya |
| ㄴ | 나na | 너neo | 노no | 누nu | 니ni | 느neu | 냐nya |
| ㄷ | 다da | 더deo | 도do | 두du | 디di | 드deu | 댜dya |
| ㅁ | 마ma | 머meo | 모mo | 무mu | 미mi | 므meu | 먀mya |
| ㅅ | 사sa | 서seo | 소so | 수su | 시si | 스seu | 샤sya |
| ㅎ | 하ha | 허heo | 호ho | 후hu | 히hi | 흐heu | 햐hya |
Read These Words — Block by Block
Each word below is waiting to be decoded. Look at it syllable by syllable — identify the consonant, the vowel, and any final consonant underneath. Click to reveal the romanization and meaning.
👆 Click any word to reveal its breakdown
쓰기 연습 — Write These Syllables
Each row shows a complete syllable block. Trace it in the grey boxes — think about which shape you're using (C+V, or C+V+받침) as you write.
Why Koreans Say 밥 먹었어요? Instead of Hello
One of the most common Korean greetings — particularly among family and close friends — is 밥 먹었어요? which means "have you eaten?" You just decoded 밥 (bap = rice/meal) in this lesson. The greeting reflects Korea's traditional food culture, where sharing a meal is an act of care. Asking if someone has eaten is a way of asking if they're being looked after. You'll hear it from grandparents, neighbours, and colleagues. The correct response, whether or not you've eaten, is usually 네, 먹었어요 (yes, I have).
📚 Lesson 4 Homework
Before Lesson 5…
Write the full 가나다라 row for every consonant you know — all 14. That means writing 140 syllables total (14 consonants × 10 vowels). This is the classic Korean alphabet drill and it cements the block-building instinct.
Pick 5 words from Part 4 and write each one 5 times, saying the syllables aloud as you write them. Focus on physically forming the block shapes.
Try reading these words cold — no hints: 소리 · 머리 · 나비 · 구두 · 하나. Write what you think they mean, then look them up.
Review your Anki or flashcard deck for all vocabulary from Lessons 1–3. Lesson 5 is the first review lesson — it will test everything from Week 1.
Find one Korean word you already know — from a song, drama, or menu — and write it in Hangul from memory using the block rules from today.