How to type Hangul
How to turn on the Korean keyboard and switch Hangul/English on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, a 2-set (Dubeolsik) practice keyboard you can use without installing anything, and tips for double consonants, double final consonants and Cheonjiin.
Every computer and phone already has a Korean keyboard built in — you just need to turn it on in Settings. Pick your device below!
1. Turn on the Korean keyboard on your device
How to turn it on
- Go to Start → Settings → Time & language → Language & region.
- Next to Preferred languages, click “Add a language”, search for “Korean” and install it. (You don't need to make it your display language.)
- When you see ‘한’ or ‘A’ instead of ‘ENG’ at the bottom right of the taskbar, you're ready!
Switching Hangul ↔ English
- Switch input language: Windows key + Space
- Hangul ↔ English inside the Korean keyboard: the 한/영 (Han/Yeong) key (on English keyboards, the right Alt key)
- On the taskbar, ‘A’ means English and ‘가’ means Hangul.
Menu names may differ slightly depending on your OS version. Typing “keyboard” or “language” in the Settings search box finds them fast.
2. The 2-set (Dubeolsik) layout — try typing right here
The “Standard/QWERTY” Korean keyboards on computers and phones all use this 2-set (Dubeolsik) layout. Your left hand types consonants and your right hand types vowels. No install needed: tap the box below and type on your English keyboard, or tap the on-screen keys.
Ad
3. Typing tips worth knowing
- Double consonants: use Shift
Shift + ㄱ·ㄷ·ㅂ·ㅅ·ㅈ keys → ㄲ·ㄸ·ㅃ·ㅆ·ㅉ. Shift + ㅐ·ㅔ → ㅒ·ㅖ.
Shift + R → ㄲ - Compound vowels: type two vowels in a row
ㅗ then ㅏ makes ㅘ, ㅜ then ㅓ makes ㅝ, and ㅡ then ㅣ makes ㅢ.
H K → ㅘ - Final consonants (batchim) place themselves
Type ㅎ ㅏ ㄴ to get ‘한’. If a vowel follows, the final consonant moves to the next letter (ㅎ ㅏ ㄴ ㅏ → 하나).
G K S → 한 - Double final consonants are just two consonants
ㄷ ㅏ ㄹ ㄱ → 닭. Just type the two consonants one after another in the final (batchim) spot.
E K F R → 닭 - If English letters come out
If you see something like ‘dkssud’, you're in English mode. Delete it, switch with 한/영 and type again.
dkssud → 안녕 - Delete removes one letter piece at a time
If you press Delete while typing Hangul, the last piece goes first (final consonant → vowel → consonant), one at a time.
한 ⌫ → 하
4. The Cheonjiin phone keypad
Many Koreans type this way on their phones. The keys are big, so it's easy to type with one hand.
- Only three vowel keys
Combine ㅣ, ㆍ (dot) and ㅡ. ㅣ+ㆍ= ㅏ, ㆍ+ㅣ= ㅓ, ㆍ+ㅡ= ㅗ, ㅡ+ㆍ= ㅜ; add the dot twice for ㅑ·ㅕ·ㅛ·ㅠ.
- Consonants: press the same key several times
Press the ㄱ key once → ㄱ, twice → ㅋ, three times → ㄲ.
- Using the same key for the next letter
Wait a moment or press the → key to move on to the next letter.
What to try next
Once you're used to the keyboard, try writing by hand too. Knowing the stroke order helps you remember letters faster.
Ad