Why Learn Hangul Letters by Frequency, Not Alphabetical Order

Learning strategy · about 6 minute read

Almost every Hangul chart you will find online lists the letters in the same fixed order: ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ for the consonants, then ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ for the vowels. It is the traditional dictionary order, and it is useful for looking words up. But it is not the best order for learning to read.

This guide explains why, and shows the order I use in Hangul Harvest instead.

The problem with chart order

Two things get in the way when you learn in chart order.

• You can't read anything for a long time. Every Korean syllable needs a vowel. In the standard chart, all 14 consonants come before the first vowel. If you work through the chart from the top, you will have studied more than half the alphabet before you can read a single syllable. That is a long stretch with no reward.
• Rare letters show up early. The "y" vowels ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ are mixed in with the basic vowels. Letters like ㅑ and ㅠ are comparatively uncommon in everyday words, so spending your early energy on them delays the letters that actually unlock words.

The idea: learn what you can use right away

A better approach is to start with the letters that appear in the most words, and to add vowels and consonants together so that you can read real words after the first few minutes. If you can read 아이 (child) on day one, you are far more likely to come back on day two than someone who has only memorized a chart.

The order used in Hangul Harvest

In the game, the 24 basic letters unlock in an order based roughly on how often they are used in everyday Korean words. Here it is, in five stages, with real words you can read once you have each stage.

Meanings, in order: child, moving house, between, baby · mother, country, street, age · one, name, here, cooking · we, tree, sea, map · coffee, skirt, milk, baseball.

Notice what happens in stage 1. With just five letters, ㅇ ㅏ ㅣ ㅅ ㄱ, you can already read four real words. The silent ㅇ gives you the vowel-only blocks 아 and 이, and ㅅ and ㄱ let you build 사, 시, 가, 기. By the end of stage 2, a word like 어머니 ("mother") is within reach.

Why this works better

• You see results immediately. Reading a whole word after a few minutes feels very different from memorizing a list.
• You practice blocks, not just letters. Pairing a vowel with a consonant early trains your eyes to see syllable blocks as units. If that idea is new, read How Hangul Syllable Blocks Work.
• The common letters get the most repetition. Letters like ㅇ, ㅏ, ㅣ appear in so many words that you meet them again and again, which is exactly what you want for memory.
• The harder, rarer letters come last, when you already have a base of words and the confidence to handle them.

Does the exact order matter?

Not very much. You will learn all 24 letters in the end, and any order works if you keep practicing. The point is not that this particular sequence is magic. The point is the principle: always be able to read something with the letters you already know. If you are making your own flashcards, you can copy the order above and simply add words as you go.

Try it in ten minutes

1. Learn the five letters in stage 1: ㅇ ㅏ ㅣ ㅅ ㄱ.
2. Write out the blocks you can make: 아 이 사 시 가 기.
3. Read the four words aloud: 아이, 이사, 사이, 아기.
4. Move on to stage 2 only when you can read stage 1 without hesitating.

If you prefer to be told what comes next, the game does this for you.

Next: Confusing Hangul Letters gives you simple rules for the look-alikes. New to the letter shapes? Start with Learn the Korean Alphabet in 1 Hour.