The Mighty Syllable

All words in Korean are composed of syllables, which follow these basic rules:

1. A syllable begins with a consonant.
2. A syllable has at least one consonant and one vowel.
3. Each syllable gets written in a square box.

So let's put the ㄴ (n) and the ㅏ (ah) together into a syllable that fits into a square box: 나

You'll notice that the consonant (n) has changed its shape a little to accommodate the vowel that has joined it in the square box.

How do you think this syllable is pronounced? If you said na before looking at this text, you are right.

Here are two more consonants:

ㅁ, which is pronounced like the m in mother.

ㅎ, which is pronounced like the h in hot.

Try to figure out how these syllables would be pronounced:

마 하 나

Consonants and vowels

Table of Contents

Stacking Syllables