You have heard saranghaeyo more times than you can count. By the end of today you will be able to write it — 사랑해요 — and read it in a comment section.
That is the whole method of this course. You have already done the hard part: hundreds of hours of listening. All that is missing is the letters, and Korean writing was designed in 1443 to be learned in a morning.
1 · A block is a syllable
English writes letters in a line: s-a-r-a-n-g. Korean stacks the letters of one syllable into one square block.
So 사랑해요 is not nine letters. It is four syllables, each drawn in its own square:
| Block | Letters inside | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| 사 | ㅅ + ㅏ | sa |
| 랑 | ㄹ + ㅏ + ㅇ | rang |
| 해 | ㅎ + ㅐ | hae |
| 요 | ㅇ + ㅛ | yo |
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 | You have heard it in |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅏ | a — as in *father* | right | 사랑 sarang — love |
| ㅓ | eo — as in *son* | right | 덕후 deoku — a fan |
| ㅗ | o — as in *go* | below | 오빠 oppa |
| ㅜ | u — as in *soon* | below | 누나 nuna |
| ㅡ | eu — lips flat, unrounded | below | 그만 geuman — stop |
| ㅣ | i — as in *machine* | right | 언니 eonni |
3 · Eight consonants
| Letter | Sound | What the shape shows | Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | g / k | tongue back at the soft palate | 고마워요 gomawoyo |
| ㄴ | n | tongue tip behind the teeth | 누나 nuna |
| 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 | 무대 mudae — stage |
| ㅂ | b / p | ㅁ opening at the top | 보고 싶어요 |
| ㅅ | s | the tongue narrowing to a gap | 사랑 sarang |
| ㅇ | silent / ng | the open throat | 오빠 oppa |
4 · Write these now
Day 1 words
Build the block for "sa" — ㅅ with the vowel ㅏ to the right.
Write "I love you".
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 사랑해요 without looking.
- I know both jobs of ㅇ.