Names, polite introductions and reading syllable blocks

Korean letters form syllable blocks. ㄱ and ㅏ make 가; a final consonant goes underneath, as in 강. In 아, the initial ㅇ is silent; at the bottom of 강, it is ng. Read from left to right, block by block. Spaces separate words, while particles and endings attach to them.

Use 저 for polite I and 제 for my. A topic, the person or thing you are talking about, takes 는 after a vowel or 은 after a final consonant: 저는, 집은. The noun plus 예요 after a vowel, or 이에요 after a consonant, means am, is or are. It stays the same for every person.

Ask the same sentence with rising intonation and a question mark. Adults use friendly polite endings here. Use a name plus 씨 for peers, but address our older landlady as 최 선생님. Avoid translating English you as 당신. Korean has no a/the articles or grammatical noun gender.

In grammar explanations, a button on a lone consonant sign reads its Korean letter name. The free Hangeul reading module instead labels and plays example syllables. Letter names help identify signs; join the sounds, rather than the names, when reading a word.

• 저는 루카스예요.I am Lukas.

• 레나예요.I am Lena.

• 이웃이에요.I am a neighbour.

• 제 이름은 레나예요.My name is Lena.

• 여기는 제 집이에요.This is my house.

• 최 선생님, 안녕하세요.Hello, Ms Choi.