The Korean Letter ㄴ (Nieun): Sound, Stroke Order and Examples

What you'll learn (about 15 minutes, level A0, you only need the vowel ㅏ first)

• Read and write ㄴ in the syllables 나, 누, 니 and 눈.
• Say the name 니은 and pronounce ㄴ correctly at the start and end of a syllable.
• Tell final ㄴ and final ㅇ apart in 반 and 방.
• Explain why 신라 is said [실라].

What Does the Korean Letter ㄴ Sound Like?

The Korean letter ㄴ sounds like the English n in "no", "sun" or "banana": the tongue tip touches the ridge just behind your upper front teeth, the voice starts, and the sound flows through the nose. The IPA symbol is [n]. Revised Romanization, the official Latin spelling system, writes it as "n". Linguists call ㄴ an alveolar nasal, because the tongue touches the alveolar ridge and the nose carries the sound.

ㄴ is the easy consonant. It sounds the same at the start of a word, between vowels and at the end of a syllable, so you can build your first syllables with it: 나, 너, 누, 니. Before ㅣ and the y-vowels, as in 니 or 뉴, ㄴ is often a little softer, because the tongue is flatter and closer to the roof of the mouth. You do not need to practice this as a separate sound, since it happens naturally when you say the syllable.

Start with these words:

• 나 (na), I; me Play
• 누나 (nuna), older sister of a male speaker Play
• 눈 (nun), eye; snow Play
• 어머니 (eomeoni), mother Play
• 안녕 (annyeong), hi; bye Play

The name 니은 follows the pattern explained on the page about the names of the Korean consonants: the letter's sound at the start, then 으 and the letter again at the end. Both ends of the name are ㄴ.

ㄴ is one of the 14 basic Korean consonants. Its only real surprise is what happens when ㄴ meets ㄹ.

Why Does ㄴ Sometimes Turn into ㄹ?

ㄴ usually turns into ㄹ when it sits next to ㄹ, because standard Korean avoids saying ㄴ and ㄹ side by side. The change is called liquidization (유음화) and is described in Article 20 of the 국립국어원 표준 발음법 (Standard Pronunciation Rules, National Institute of Korean Language).

• 신라 (Silla, an ancient kingdom), said [실라] Play
• 난로 (nallo, heater; stove), said [날로] Play
• 설날 (seollal, Lunar New Year), said [설랄] Play

The first two examples show ㄴ + ㄹ becoming ㄹ + ㄹ. The third shows the reverse order, ㄹ + ㄴ, also becoming ㄹ + ㄹ. In every case the double ㄹ sounds like a long l. A few compound words go the other way, changing ㄹ to ㄴ instead, as in 생산량 [생산냥] (output). The lesson on the liquidization rule (신라 = [실라]) covers all the cases.

Next, a look at the reason ㄴ has this shape.

Why Does ㄴ Show the Tongue Touching the Gum?

ㄴ copies the shape of the tongue tip touching the upper gum. According to the Hunminjeongeum Haerye (1446), the text that explained the design of Hangul, the tongue letters are based on the shape of the tongue. The base letter ㄴ shows the tongue rising to touch the ridge behind the teeth.

This is the first of a family. Adding a stroke to ㄴ gives ㄷ, and adding another gives ㅌ. This is the stroke-addition principle (가획, gahoek).

1. ㄴ (nieun) is the base tongue letter: nasal.
2. ㄷ (digeut) adds a top bar: a plain stop.
3. ㅌ (tieut) adds a middle bar: an aspirated stop.

Because ㄴ is the base, it is also the simplest to write, as the next section shows.

How to Write ㄴ in 1 Stroke

ㄴ is written with 1 stroke in standard print.

1. Draw a vertical line downward on the left, then, without lifting the pen, a horizontal line to the right along the bottom.

Success check: your ㄴ looks like a corner with a sharp bend at the bottom left, like an English L. The vertical line and the horizontal line are about the same length.

The corner is square in printed fonts. In quick handwriting, it is often rounded, but you should keep the corner clear so that ㄴ is not confused with other letters. Be careful with ㄷ, which has an extra bar on top: ㄷ is ㄴ plus one line, so a missing top bar changes the letter. You can compare ㄴ with its neighbours in consonant stroke order.

Inside a block, ㄴ shrinks to fit. In 나, ㄴ sits on the left and ㅏ on the right. In 누, ㄴ sits on top and ㅜ underneath. In 눈, ㄴ appears twice: once at the top and once at the bottom as a final consonant.

Next, a look at what ㄴ does in different places inside a word.

ㄴ at the Start, Middle and End of a Word

ㄴ is the same [n] at the start, in the middle and at the end of a syllable; the only change is its neighbour. The table shows each position.

A letter at the bottom of a syllable block is called a batchim (받침, final consonant). The glossary entry on batchim defines the term, and a block like 눈 has ㄴ as its batchim.

ㄴ as a Final Consonant (batchim): [n]

ㄴ as a final consonant is pronounced [n]: the tongue tip touches the ridge, the voice continues through the nose, and the tongue stays in place. This is one of the 7 final sounds of Korean listed in the Standard Pronunciation Rules, and you can see all of them in the seven final sounds.

• 눈 (nun), eye; snow Play
• 산 (san), mountain Play
• 안 (an), inside Play

Do not add a vowel after the n. Stop with the tongue on the ridge.

Final ㄴ and ㅇ: 반 and 방

At the end of a syllable, ㄴ and ㅇ are two different sounds, and English speakers tend to merge them in fast speech. 반 (ban) means "half" or "class", and 방 (bang) means "room".

Play Play

The mouth position is the cue. Tongue tip up means ㄴ, and tongue back up means ㅇ. For the full ㅇ story, see the letter ㅇ (Ieung).

Now put the pieces together in a worked example.

Worked Example: Reading 나, 누, 니 and 눈

Reading a Korean syllable means splitting the block into its parts and joining the sounds. Here are four examples.

Example 1: 나.

1. Split the block: ㄴ + ㅏ.
2. Say [n] and add [a]: [na]. Play

Example 2: 누.

1. Split the block: ㄴ + ㅜ.
2. Say [n] and add [u]: [nu]. The vowel ㅜ sits under the consonant. Play

Example 3: 니.

1. Split the block: ㄴ + ㅣ.
2. Say [n] and add [i]: [ni]. The tongue is slightly flatter, so the n is a little softer. Play

Example 4: 눈 (eye; snow).

1. Split the block: ㄴ + ㅜ + ㄴ.
2. Say [n], then [u], then end with the tongue tip on the ridge for a final [n].
3. Join them: [눈], romanized nun. Play

Check yourself: if you can read all four aloud without the romanization, you have the core skill. Romanization is only a learning aid shown in parentheses.

Next, ㄴ is compared with the letters it is most often confused with.

ㄴ Compared with ㅁ, ㄹ and ㄷ

ㄴ differs from ㅁ in where the closure is made, from ㄹ in how the tongue moves, and from ㄷ in having no stop. The sets 눈 / 문 and 아내 / 아래 let you hear two of these differences. 눈 (nun) means "eye" or "snow", and 문 (mun) means "door". 아내 (anae) means "wife", and 아래 (arae) means "below".

The vowel ㅐ (ae) in these words is read like the e in English "bed"; the vowel lessons cover it in full.

ㄴ and ㄷ use the same tongue position. The difference is that ㄴ lets the air go through the nose and ㄷ stops it. In writing, ㄷ is ㄴ plus a top bar. To hear the stop, listen to the letter ㄷ (Digeut). ㅁ and ㄹ have their own lessons: the letter ㅁ (Mieum) and the letter ㄹ (Rieul).

The next section collects the errors that cost learners the most.

Which Mistakes Do Learners Make with ㄴ?

Most learners make one of four errors with ㄴ, and each has a quick fix.

1. Pronouncing final ㄴ and ㅇ the same. Learners say 반 and 방 identically. Fix: keep the tongue tip up for 반 and the tongue back up for 방.
2. Rounding the corner of ㄴ too much. A round ㄴ looks like a bent stick or a curve. Fix: draw a clear right-angle corner.
3. Reading 신라 letter by letter. Learners say "sin-ra". Fix: say [실라], with a long l.
4. Confusing ㄴ with ㄷ. ㄷ has an extra top line. Fix: count the lines. One bend for ㄴ, an extra bar for ㄷ.

Is Every ㄴ Read as Written?

Not every ㄴ is read as written. Most of the time ㄴ is [n], but next to ㄹ it becomes [l], as in 신라 [실라] and 난로 [날로]. The spelling shows the original letters, and a pronunciation rule produces the sound.

Learners often assume that the spelling always shows what is heard. Actually, Hangul spelling keeps the structure of the word, and a rule changes the sound.

You are now ready to test what you have learned.

Practice: Four Quick Exercises

Complete these exercises before you check the answers. You can also test yourself with the interactive quiz.

1. Read aloud. Say each word and write its pronunciation in brackets: 나, 누나, 눈, 어머니, 안녕, 신라.
2. Listen and choose. Play three clips. For each one, decide whether it ends with ㄴ or ㅇ: Play Play Play
3. Write. Write ㄴ five times in 1 stroke, then write the blocks 나 and 누.
4. Find the final. In the words 눈, 산, 안녕, which block has ㄴ at the bottom? Which ones also have ㄴ at the start of the next block?

Answers to the Practice

1. 나 [나], 누나 [누나], 눈 [눈], 어머니 [어머니], 안녕 [안녕], 신라 [실라]. Only 신라 differs from the spelling.
2. The order of the clips is 방 (ㅇ), 반 (ㄴ), 산 (ㄴ). If you got two of three, check the tongue position and listen again.
3. Your ㄴ should have a clear corner at the bottom left, with the vertical and horizontal lines about equal.
4. 눈, 산 and 안 all have ㄴ at the bottom. In 안녕, the final ㄴ of 안 is followed by the initial ㄴ of 녕, so you hold the n slightly longer.

Review the letter with the other consonants in the Hangul flashcard decks. Test yourself in the Hangul quizzes. For writing practice, print the Korean consonants writing practice sheet, and try the interactive Hangul alphabet.

What Should You Learn after ㄴ?

After ㄴ, learn the letter ㄷ (Digeut), which uses the same tongue position and adds a stop. To see every consonant in one place, open all Korean consonants.

This lesson covers the sound, name, shape and main behaviors of ㄴ. It does not cover every sound-change rule, which lives in the pronunciation section, or the vowels that combine with ㄴ. Audio on this page is machine-generated and its review status is shown beside each clip; the Korean text and audio are drafts until a Korean specialist signs them off.

Questions about the Korean Letter ㄴ

Is ㄴ the same as English n? Almost. ㄴ is pronounced like the English n at the start of a word, in the middle, and at the end of a syllable. The tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth, and the sound flows through the nose. Before ㅣ it is slightly softer. Next to ㄹ, ㄴ changes to [l], as in 신라 [실라].

How is 니은 different from 이응 at the end of a word? The name 니은 refers to ㄴ, and 이응 refers to ㅇ. At the end of a syllable, ㄴ is [n] with the tongue tip on the ridge, and ㅇ is [ŋ] with the back of the tongue raised. Compare 반 (half) and 방 (room). English speakers often merge them in fast speech.

Why is 신라 pronounced Silla? In 신라, ㄴ is followed by ㄹ, and Korean changes ㄴ to ㄹ in this position. This is called liquidization (유음화). The written letters are ㄴ and ㄹ, but the sound is a long l, so 신라 is said [실라]. Other examples are 난로 [날로] and 설날 [설랄].

How many strokes is ㄴ? ㄴ is written in 1 stroke in standard print: a vertical line down, then a horizontal line to the right, without lifting the pen. It is the simplest consonant to write. The related letter ㄷ has 2 strokes and ㅌ has 3. Handwriting may vary between teachers, but the shape should keep a clear corner.

What is the name of ㄴ in Korean? The name of ㄴ is 니은 (nieun). It is said [니은]. The name follows the regular pattern for most consonants, in which the letter's sound opens and closes the name, so ㄴ is both the first and last sound. Koreans use it when spelling a word aloud or talking about the alphabet.

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