Korean Consonants Stroke Order, Letter by Letter

What you'll learn

• Write the 14 basic and 5 double consonants with the conventional order and count.
• Group the consonants into five shape families so new letters are easier to remember.
• Write 밥 stroke by stroke, with the final consonant smaller than the first.
• Spot and fix five common order errors.
• Prerequisites: you can recognise the consonants by sight. Estimated time: 30 minutes.

What Is Consonant Stroke Order?

Consonant stroke order is the conventional sequence and direction of the lines that make each Korean consonant. Korean calls it 획순 (hoeksun). The order follows three rules, top to bottom, left to right and close a box last, plus one exception: ㅇ starts at the top and turns counter-clockwise. These rules are explained on the main Hangul stroke order page.

Two quick examples show the rules at work. ㄱ is one stroke: across, then down. ㄷ is two strokes: first the top bar, then a ㄴ shape. In both, the higher stroke comes first, and in both the pen moves down or to the right.

If a letter is new to you, learn its sound first in Korean consonants, then come back to write it. Now we look at how the consonants group into families.

Why Learn Consonants in Families?

Learning consonants in families works because Hangul's consonants were designed from a few base shapes, and related letters share a core shape. If you write ㄱ well, you already know most of ㅋ. The 15th-century commentary on Hangul's design says that the aspirated and other consonants were built by adding strokes to base letters. The history is in how Hangul was designed.

The five families are:

An important limit: "add a stroke" describes how the shapes relate, and it does not always add one to the stroke count. ㅂ and ㅍ both take four strokes, because ㅍ rearranges the lines instead of adding a fifth. Use the family idea to recognise shapes, and use the tables below for exact counts.

Here is a quick reference for all 19 consonants.

Counts follow the common school convention and variants are discussed below. The next section walks through the families in order.

Korean Consonants Stroke Order, Family by Family

Each family below uses the same format: the letters, then the order, then one tip. Write each family as a group, because the repeated shapes will lock in the sequence faster than isolated letters.

How Do You Write ㄱ, ㅋ and ㄲ?

ㄱ is written in one stroke: draw across to the right, turn the corner and pull down. ㅋ is ㄱ plus a short bar that meets the middle of the down line, giving two strokes. ㄲ is two ㄱ letters side by side, written left to right, and each is about half the normal width.

The tip: make the corner of ㄱ square, and angle the downstroke slightly to the left when a vertical vowel follows, as in 가. The lesson on the letter ㄱ shows how the shape bends with its vowel. The double form ㄲ gets its own page, linked at the end of this lesson.

ㄴ, ㄷ, ㅌ and ㄸ

ㄴ is one stroke: down, then across to the right. ㄷ adds a top bar before the ㄴ shape, so write the bar first and then the corner. ㅌ adds a middle bar, so the order is top bar, middle bar, then the corner. ㄸ is two ㄷ letters side by side.

The tip: the top bar always comes first. A common slip is writing the ㄴ shape first and putting a bar on top afterwards, which is the reverse of the standard order and gives an uneven top corner.

ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅍ and ㅃ

ㅁ is three strokes: the left side, then the top and right side as one bent stroke, then the bottom bar to close the box. ㅂ is four: left vertical, right vertical, middle bar, bottom bar. ㅍ is four: top bar, left vertical, right vertical, bottom bar. ㅃ is two ㅂ letters side by side.

The tip: close the box last. If you close the bottom first, the corners tend to curve and the box leans. Learn ㅁ first, because ㅂ is built on the same frame, and see the lessons on the letter ㅂ and the letter ㅁ for sounds.

ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅆ and ㅉ

ㅅ is two strokes, both starting near the top: a left diagonal, then a right diagonal. ㅈ puts a top bar above the ㅅ shape. Korean schools teach it in two strokes: the bar turns without a pen lift into the left leg, then the right leg follows. ㅊ adds a short mark above the bar, giving three strokes. Some print-style charts lift the pen after the bar, which gives ㅈ three strokes and ㅊ four. ㅆ and ㅉ write the base letter twice.

The tip: all the diagonal strokes start at the top and end at the bottom. The two legs of ㅅ should meet at the top, and the bar of ㅈ should be longer than the spread of its legs. The hand-written forms are covered in handwritten letter shapes.

How Are ㅇ, ㅎ and ㄹ Written?

ㅇ is written in one stroke: start at the top and draw a circle counter-clockwise, so the line first moves left. ㅎ is three strokes: the short top mark, the bar, then a circle written the same way as ㅇ. ㄹ is three strokes: a ㄱ shape, a short horizontal bar, then a ㄴ shape.

Why does handwritten ㄹ look like a Z with a tail? Because the three strokes are joined by a fast hand. The middle bar and the final corner merge into a single zigzag, and the corners become round. The standard three-stroke order is still the base to learn first. The lesson on the letter ㄹ explains its sound, and the lesson on the letter ㅎ covers the variants of its top mark.

With all letters covered, you can now try them together in a real syllable.

Worked Example: Writing 밥 Stroke by Stroke

Writing 밥 (bap, cooked rice) takes ten strokes in a fixed order: four for the first ㅂ, two for the vowel ㅏ and four for the final ㅂ. The first ㅂ is written in the top left, the vowel on its right, and the final ㅂ under both, smaller than the first.

1. Left vertical of the first ㅂ, from top to bottom.
2. Right vertical of the first ㅂ, from top to bottom.
3. Middle bar of the first ㅂ, left to right.
4. Bottom bar of the first ㅂ, left to right.
5. Long vertical line of ㅏ, top to bottom.
6. Short tick of ㅏ, left to right, at the middle of the long line.
7. to 10. The final ㅂ, written in the same four steps but about half the height, under the vowel.

Check the result. The first ㅂ should be a little shorter than the vowel's long line. The final ㅂ should be flatter and narrower. How the sizes divide up inside a block is explained in writing whole syllable blocks. The one thing left to cover is how the books differ.

Which Stroke Orders Vary between Textbooks?

Four letters are taught slightly differently in some Korean school materials: ㅌ, ㅈ, ㅊ and ㅎ. These are variants, not errors, and you should follow your own textbook consistently.

Why does this happen? Handwriting merges strokes that meet at a corner. The result is a different count but the same shape. Rather than argue about which count is right, pick the one your textbook shows, and check it against a current Korean primary-school writing guide if you want a second source.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Five order mistakes cover most of the errors on beginners' pages. Each has a clear fix.

An expert tip: slow down to speed up. Write each fixed letter ten times at half your normal speed. Speed returns later, and the correct order is then automatic.

Practice: Copy and Quiz

Copy each family twice on a grid with 10 mm squares, then try the quiz from memory. Cover the table above while you answer.

Part 1. Copy. Write each row on a grid: ㄱ ㅋ ㄲ; ㄴ ㄷ ㅌ ㄸ; ㅁ ㅂ ㅍ ㅃ; ㅅ ㅈ ㅊ ㅆ ㅉ; ㅇ ㅎ ㄹ. Say the stroke number aloud as you write it.

Part 2. One-more-stroke quiz. Name the letter that results.

1. ㄱ plus a bar that meets the middle of the down line.
2. ㄴ plus a top bar.
3. ㄷ plus a middle bar.
4. ㅅ plus a top bar.
5. ㅈ plus a short top mark.
6. ㅇ plus a bar and a short top mark.
7. ㅁ with the two sides extended and a middle bar added.

Answers. 1 ㅋ, 2 ㄷ, 3 ㅌ, 4 ㅈ, 5 ㅊ, 6 ㅎ, 7 ㅂ.

Part 3. Spot the error. Which stroke is wrong? (a) A ㅂ where the middle bar was written first. (b) A ㅎ with the circle drawn before the bar. (c) A ㅁ drawn in one loop. Answer: in each case the order breaks one of the three rules: (a) top before bottom, because the verticals start above the middle bar, (b) top before bottom, because the bar sits above the circle, (c) close the box last, in three strokes.

For printable grids, use the Hangul tracing worksheets and trace each letter ten times.

What to Learn Next

After the consonants, learn how the vowels are written. Continue with Korean vowel stroke order, where one positional rule covers all 21 vowels. When you reach the doubled letters ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ and ㅉ, you will find their widths and proportions in double letters stroke order.

Questions about Korean Consonants Stroke Order

Do I Have to Follow Stroke Order Exactly?

You should follow it while you learn, but small differences between books are normal. The order gives repeatable corners and faster writing, and it matters more for handwriting than for meaning. If your teacher or textbook uses a variant for a letter such as ㅌ or ㅈ, follow that variant consistently for the whole course.

Why Does ㅈ Look Different in Some Fonts?

Fonts draw ㅈ as a bar plus a ㅅ shape, sometimes with a small hook on the bar, and handwriting often joins the bar and the left leg. The design differs but the letter is the same. If the shapes confuse you, compare them in the guide to handwritten letter shapes and choose one form to write.

How Many Times Should I Write Each Consonant?

A practical target is ten careful repetitions per letter in the first session, then three or four from memory on later days. Quality counts more than quantity: stop and restart a line if the order or shape goes wrong. Writing from memory after tracing usually builds better recall than tracing alone.

Is ㄹ One Stroke or Three?

Most Korean school materials teach ㄹ as three strokes: a ㄱ shape, a short horizontal bar and a ㄴ shape. Quick handwriting often joins them into one or two zigzag motions, which makes ㄹ look like a Z with a tail. Learn the three-stroke order first, then let speed join the strokes naturally.