How Many Letters Are There – All Hangul Alphabet?
If you’re just starting to learn Korean, one of the first questions you’ll ask about the all Hangul alphabet is: How many letters are in the Korean alphabet? The answer might surprise you.
Koreans call their writing system Hangul. It’s known for being logical and learner-friendly. Unlike other East Asian scripts that require memorizing thousands of characters, Hangul is made up of a fixed set of letters called jamo.
Before Hangul, Koreans used the same alphabet as China, but most Koreans could not read or write. King Sejong created Hangul so that everyone in his Kingdom could read and write Korean.
So how many are there in total?
The basic Hangul alphabet consists of 24 letters:
- 14 consonants
- 10 vowels
All Hangul Alphabet – The Full Number
These form the foundation of Korean reading and writing. But there’s more. When you include double consonants and combined vowels, you reach the complete set of 40 sounds. That’s why some learners refer to the “all Hangul alphabet” as having 40 elements.
Here’s the full breakdown:
- 14 basic consonants (like ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ)
- 5 double consonants (like ㄲ, ㅃ)
- 10 basic vowels (like ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅣ)
- 11 combined vowels (like ㅘ, ㅢ)
Each letter has a single, consistent sound—one letter, one sound. This makes Hangul a phonetic system, ideal for beginners.
If you can recognize these 40 symbols, you can begin sounding out real Korean words—even if you don’t know what they mean yet. That’s why the “all Hangul alphabet” is such a powerful first step.
Ready to get started? Learn the 24 basics first, then move on to combinations. You don’t need to memorize thousands of characters—just 40 clear sounds that unlock an entire language.
How many have you mastered? Let us know in the comments below.
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Of course, this is just the beginning. We’ve created a full list of 100+ K-Drama words and expressions, organized by category and matched with flashcards.
So if you’ve ever wanted to understand what they’re really saying in your favorite scenes, this is the easiest way to start.
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