Confusing Hangul Letters: How to Tell the Look-Alikes Apart

Beginner guide · about 6 minute read

Once you know the basic Hangul letters, a new problem appears: some of them look almost the same. A single short stroke separates ㅓ from ㅏ, or ㅅ from ㅈ. This is normal, and it fades with practice. This guide groups the confusing letters into pairs and gives you a simple rule for each, so you can stop guessing.

The vowel strokes: ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ

These four vowels are drawn from a long line and one short stroke. The only difference is which way the stroke points.

A memory rule: ㅏ and ㅗ have their stroke pointing right or up. ㅓ and ㅜ point left or down. In the original design, the first two were considered "bright" vowels and the second two "dark" ones, which is why they are drawn in opposite directions.

Try it: 고기 (meat) and 거기 (there) differ by only this one stroke. If you can tell them apart, you have the rule.

One stroke or two: ㅏ vs ㅑ, ㅓ vs ㅕ

Adding a second stroke adds a "y" sound at the start. So ㅏ (a) becomes ㅑ (ya), and ㅓ (eo) becomes ㅕ (yeo). The same goes for ㅗ (o) to ㅛ (yo), and ㅜ (u) to ㅠ (yu). Count the strokes: one stroke is the plain vowel, two strokes mean "y".

The horizontal and vertical lines: ㅡ vs ㅣ vs ㅜ

ㅡ is a flat line (eu, like the "u" in "cushion") and ㅣ is a tall line (i, like "ee" in "see"). ㅜ is easy to mistake for ㅡ because both are horizontal. The difference is the small stroke hanging below ㅜ. No stroke means ㅡ, a stroke means ㅜ.

Growing consonants: ㅅ → ㅈ → ㅊ

These three are built on each other. ㅅ (s) is the base. Add a horizontal line on top and you get ㅈ (j). Add a small extra stroke above that, and you get ㅊ (ch). If you can see the pattern of "one more line each time", you only need to remember one shape.

Try it: 사다 (to buy) and 자다 (to sleep) differ only by that top line.

The extra puff of air: ㄱ → ㅋ, ㄷ → ㅌ, ㅈ → ㅊ

Korean has plain consonants and "aspirated" ones that are said with a stronger puff of air. In writing, the aspirated letter is usually the plain one with an extra stroke: ㄱ becomes ㅋ, ㄷ becomes ㅌ, and ㅈ becomes ㅊ. (ㅂ and ㅍ do not follow this pattern as neatly, so learn ㅍ as its own shape.) An extra stroke means an extra puff of air.

Lines and boxes: ㄴ vs ㄷ vs ㄹ, and ㅁ vs ㅂ

• ㄴ vs ㄷ: ㄷ is ㄴ with a line on top. ㄴ is "n", ㄷ is "d". Try it: 달 (moon) and 날 (day).
• ㄱ vs ㄴ: they are the same corner shape, rotated. ㄱ has its corner at the top right, ㄴ at the bottom left.
• ㅁ vs ㅂ: ㅁ is a closed square, "m". ㅂ is open at the top with two short stems, "b". Try it: 물 (water) and 불 (fire).

Circles: ㅇ vs ㅎ

ㅎ looks like ㅇ with a hat on top. ㅇ is the silent placeholder at the start of a block (or "ng" at the bottom), while ㅎ is a real "h" sound. A hat means "h".

Letters that look different but sound almost the same: ㅐ vs ㅔ

Here the problem is the opposite. ㅐ (ae) and ㅔ (e) look different, but for most modern speakers they sound nearly identical. Words like 개 (dog) and 게 (crab) are pronounced almost the same. You mostly learn which one to write by remembering the word, not by hearing it. Don't worry if you can't hear the difference at first, since many Korean speakers can't either.

A practice routine for look-alikes

1. Pick one pair at a time. Don't try to fix everything at once.
2. Say the rule out loud ("stroke left means eo").
3. Read a few real words that use the pair, like 고기 / 거기.
4. Come back the next day and test yourself without looking.

Reading real words matters more than staring at a chart, because your brain starts using the whole block and not only the single letter. For more on this idea, see How Hangul Syllable Blocks Work.

Next: if you haven't picked an order for learning the letters, read Why Learn Hangul Letters by Frequency, Not Alphabetical Order.