You have heard jinjja in every episode you have ever watched, usually with a face. By the end of today you will be able to write it — 진짜 — and read it in a subtitle.
This course is really about speech levels — why the same sentence can be warm, distant or insulting depending on one syllable. But that comes in week two. First, the letters.
1 · A block is a syllable
English writes letters in a line: j-i-n-j-j-a. Korean stacks the letters of one syllable into one square block.
So 진짜 is not six letters. It is two syllables, each drawn in its own square:
| Block | Letters inside | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| 진 | ㅈ + ㅣ + ㄴ | jin |
| 짜 | ㅉ + ㅏ | jja |
2 · The first six vowels
Every block must contain a vowel. A tall vowel (like ㅏ) sits to the right of the consonant. A flat one (like ㅗ) sits underneath. That is the entire layout rule.
| Letter | Sound | Sits | In a drama |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅏ | a — as in *father* | right | 진짜 jinjja |
| ㅓ | eo — as in *son* | right | 어디 eodi — where |
| ㅗ | o — as in *go* | below | 오빠 oppa |
| ㅜ | u — as in *soon* | below | 누구 nugu — who |
| ㅡ | eu — lips flat, unrounded | below | 그만 geuman — stop it |
| ㅣ | i — as in *machine* | right | 미안 mian — sorry |
3 · Eight consonants
| Letter | Sound | What the shape shows | Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | g / k | tongue back at the soft palate | 괜찮아 gwaenchana |
| ㄴ | n | tongue tip behind the teeth | 누구 nugu |
| ㄷ | d / t | ㄴ with a lid | 대박 daebak |
| ㄹ | r / l | the tongue flicking | 사랑 sarang |
| ㅁ | m | the closed mouth, from the front | 미안 mian |
| ㅂ | b / p | ㅁ opening at the top | 보고 싶어 |
| ㅅ | s | the tongue narrowing to a gap | 설마 seolma |
| ㅇ | silent / ng | the open throat | 왜 wae — why |
4 · Write these now
Day 1 words
Build the block for "jin" — ㅈ, ㅣ, then ㄴ underneath.
Write "really / seriously".
Before the quiz
- I know which of ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ ㅣ go right and which go below.
- I read a block top-left → top-right → bottom.
- I can write 진짜 and 대박 without looking.
- I know both jobs of ㅇ.