You already say taekwondo every week. By the end of today you will be able to write it — 태권도 — and read it back out loud.
That is not a trick. Korean writing was designed in 1443 to be learned in a morning, and the design still works.
1 · A block is a syllable
English writes letters in a line: t-a-e-k-w-o-n-d-o. Korean stacks the letters of one syllable into one square block.
So 태권도 is not seven letters. It is three syllables, each drawn in its own square:
| Block | Letters inside | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| 태 | ㅌ + ㅐ | tae |
| 권 | ㄱ + ㅜ + ㅓ + ㄴ | gwon |
| 도 | ㄷ + ㅗ | do |
2 · Six vowels to start
Every block must contain a vowel. Learn these six today and you can already read most of a dojang wall.
A vowel drawn as a tall line (like ㅏ) sits to the right of the consonant. A flat one (like ㅗ) sits underneath. That is the whole layout rule.
| Letter | Sound | Shape sits | Example block |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅏ | a — as in *father* | right | 다 = da |
| ㅓ | eo — as in *son* | right | 더 = deo |
| ㅗ | o — as in *go* | below | 도 = do |
| ㅜ | u — as in *soon* | below | 두 = du |
| ㅡ | eu — lips flat, no rounding | below | 드 = deu |
| ㅣ | i — as in *machine* | right | 디 = di |
3 · Your first eight consonants
| Letter | Sound | What the shape shows |
|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | g / k | back of tongue at the soft palate |
| ㄴ | n | tongue tip touching behind the teeth |
| ㄷ | d / t | ㄴ with a lid — same place, harder stop |
| ㄹ | r / l | the tongue flicking |
| ㅁ | m | the closed mouth, seen from the front |
| ㅂ | b / p | ㅁ opening at the top |
| ㅅ | s | the tongue narrowing to a gap |
| ㅇ | silent / ng | the open throat |
4 · Read these now
Day 1 words
Build the block for "do" — consonant ㄷ with the vowel ㅗ underneath.
Write "dojang" in Hangul.
Before the quiz, check yourself
- I can say which of ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ ㅣ go to the right and which go below.
- I can read a block in the order top-left → top-right → bottom.
- I can write 태권도 without looking.
- I know both jobs of ㅇ.