Korean Hangul Alphabet

Study Notes

Alphabet: Hangul is the native writing system of the Korean language, consisting of 14 consonants and 10 vowels.
Creation: Hangul was created in the 15th century by King Sejong, the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty, to promote literacy among common people.
Unique feature: Hangul is considered one of the most scientifically designed alphabets in the world, with a unique feature of being written in syllable blocks.
Syllable blocks: Hangul characters are composed of 2-4 letters, with a consonant followed by a vowel, and sometimes a final consonant.

Native words: Korean vocabulary consists of native words, known as "hanja" (), which are derived from Chinese characters.
Sino-Korean words: Many Korean words are loanwords from Chinese, known as "hanja-eo" (), which are adapted to fit the Korean language.
Korean-English words: Korean vocabulary has also been influenced by English, with many loanwords adopted into the language.
Honorifics: Korean vocabulary includes a system of honorifics, which are used to show respect or politeness towards the speaker, listener, or subject.

Word order: Korean grammar typically follows a subject-object-verb (SOV) word order.
Verbs: Korean verbs are highly inflected, with many endings and suffixes used to indicate tense, aspect, mood, and honorifics.
Tenses: Korean grammar has a complex system of tenses, including present, past, and future, as well as various aspects and moods.
Particles: Korean grammar uses particles to indicate the relationship between words in a sentence, such as topic, subject, and object markers.
Honorifics: Korean grammar also includes a system of honorifics, which are used to show respect or politeness towards the speaker, listener, or subject.

Hangul is the native writing system of the Korean language, comprising 14 consonants and 10 vowels.
King Sejong created Hangul in the 15th century to promote literacy among common people.
Hangul is considered one of the most scientifically designed alphabets, written in syllable blocks consisting of 2-4 letters.

Korean vocabulary includes native words (hanja) derived from Chinese characters.
Many Korean words are Sino-Korean loanwords (hanja-eo) adapted from Chinese.
Korean vocabulary has been influenced by English, with many loanwords adopted into the language.
Korean has a system of honorifics to show respect or politeness towards the speaker, listener, or subject.

Korean grammar typically follows a subject-object-verb (SOV) word order.
Korean verbs are highly inflected, with many endings and suffixes indicating tense, aspect, mood, and honorifics.
Korean grammar has a complex system of tenses, including present, past, and future, as well as various aspects and moods.
Particles are used to indicate the relationship between words in a sentence, such as topic, subject, and object markers.
Korean grammar includes a system of honorifics to show respect or politeness towards the speaker, listener, or subject.

Verb-based language with verb typically at the end of a sentence
No distinction between nouns and pronouns
Honorifics: polite language for older people or those in positions of authority, and casual language for friends and people of similar age or status
Three tenses:
- Past: indicates completed action
- Present: indicates ongoing action
- Future: indicates anticipated action
Word order: Subject-Object-Verb (SOV)

Native Korean words: approximately 35% of vocabulary
Chinese loanwords: approximately 60% of vocabulary (adopted during Han dynasty)
English loanwords: approximately 5% of vocabulary (adopted during modernization)
Word formation methods:
- Compounding: combining two or more words to create a new word
- Derivation: adding prefixes or suffixes to create new words
Honorific vocabulary: words used to show respect or politeness