Hangul is the native Korean alphabet and is used to write the majority of words in the Korean language. It consists of 14 consonants and 10 vowels, which can be combined to form syllabic blocks called "jamo". Hangul is written from left to right and top to bottom, with each jamo representing a syllable.
Hanja are Chinese characters that have been adopted for use in Korean. Hanja are used to write certain words, especially those of Chinese origin, and are often used in conjunction with Hangul. Hanja are not phonetic and must be memorized individually.
In addition to Hangul and Hanja, there are also a number of other symbols and punctuation marks used in Korean writing. These include:
- Eojeol (ㅇ): A circle that is used to indicate the absence of a consonant sound.
- Ieung (ㅁ): A box that is used to indicate the nasal sound "m".
- Kiyeok (ㄱ): A vertical line that is used to indicate the guttural sound "k".
- Nieun (ㄴ): A diagonal line that is used to indicate the dental sound "n".
To write in Korean, it is necessary to learn the Hangul alphabet and the basic rules of grammar and pronunciation. There are many resources available to help you learn Korean, including online tutorials, textbooks, and language classes.