How to Type Korean on Android: a Practical Guide

What you need: an Android phone or tablet and a keyboard app that supports Korean. Gboard (Google's keyboard) and Samsung Keyboard both do. You do not need to install a new app on most phones.

Android is made by many companies, and each one names its menus a little differently. The steps below use Gboard as the main example and mention Samsung where it differs. If your screen does not match, open Settings and search for "keyboard" or "languages". Those search terms work on all versions.

How to Type Korean on Android: the Basic Idea

Typing Korean on Android means adding Korean as a keyboard language, then switching to it when you write. The keyboard app makes Korean letters (jamo) and joins them into syllable blocks, so ㅎ, ㅏ and ㄴ become 한.

The English keyboard stays on the phone. After you add Korean, the keyboard offers a way to switch, usually a globe icon or a gesture on the space bar. The idea is simple. The details change by phone brand and Android version.

Step 1: Open Language Settings

You can reach the keyboard's own settings in two ways.

From Android Settings:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap System, then Languages & input. On some phones the path is General management, then Keyboard list and default, or Language and input.
3. Tap On-screen keyboard, then tap Gboard (or Samsung Keyboard).
4. Tap Languages.

From the keyboard itself: open any text box so the keyboard appears. Tap the gear icon in the toolbar (or tap and hold the comma key). Then tap Languages.

Expected result: you see a list of the languages your keyboard supports. English (or your current language) is already on it.

Step 2: Add Korean in Your Keyboard App

On Gboard:

1. Tap Add keyboard.
2. Search for Korean (한국어) and tap it.
3. Choose a layout. You usually see a computer-style layout and Cheonjiin (a 12-key layout, 천지인, sometimes spelled Chunjiin). The computer-style layout may be named QWERTY, 2-Bulsik or 두벌식 depending on the app version; this guide calls it QWERTY.
4. Tap Done.

On Samsung Keyboard:

1. Tap Manage input languages (the name may vary).
2. Turn on Korean.
3. Tap the Korean entry to choose its layout, such as QWERTY or Cheonjiin.

Expected result: Korean appears in your list of languages. If you tap the gear, you see the layout you chose.

The layouts available differ by phone and by keyboard version. Samsung Keyboard, for example, may list more Korean layouts than Gboard. Read the options on your own screen.

Which Layout Should You Choose?

The two main layouts suit different people. The table compares them.

For most learners, choose QWERTY. It uses the same map as the 2-beolsik keyboard layout lesson, so what you learn on the phone helps on a computer, and the other way round. Cheonjiin builds vowels from three strokes (a dot ㆍ, a horizontal line ㅡ and a vertical line ㅣ), which is clever, but you must learn a separate system. Read the cheonjiin keyboard page if you want to see how it works.

Step 3: Switch and Test

1. Open any app with a text box, such as Messages or Notes. The keyboard appears.
2. Tap the globe icon at the bottom-left of the keyboard. Each tap moves to the next language. If you do not see a globe, touch and hold the space bar to pick a language. On Samsung Keyboard you can also swipe left or right along the space bar if that option is on.
3. The space bar often shows the name of the current language, such as 한국어.

Expected result: the keys change to Korean letters.

If you use Samsung Keyboard and no globe appears, check the language switch option in Samsung Keyboard settings, under Languages and types, and turn on the key that switches languages.

Type Your First Word with QWERTY

The QWERTY Korean layout has the same letters as the computer keyboard.

1. Tap ㅇ, then ㅏ, then ㄴ. You see 안.
2. Tap ㄴ, ㅕ, ㅇ. You see 안녕.

The ㄴ at the bottom of 안 moves into the next block when you add ㅕ. This is normal behaviour: the keyboard decides where the consonant goes after it sees the next letter.

Now try 한글 (hangeul, "Hangul"): ㅎ, ㅏ, ㄴ, ㄱ, ㅡ, ㄹ.

Type Tense Consonants

On the QWERTY layout, tense consonants (ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ) come from the Shift arrow. Tap Shift once, then tap ㄱ to get ㄲ. The same works for ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ and ㅈ. Shift also turns ㅐ and ㅔ into ㅒ and ㅖ. Try 아빠 (appa, "dad"): ㅇ, ㅏ, Shift + ㅂ, ㅏ.

On Cheonjiin, you tap a consonant key again to turn a plain letter into its stronger forms. For ㄱ, taps go through ㄱ, then ㅋ, then ㄲ on typical Cheonjiin keyboards. Watch the screen, since the exact order depends on the key. The page on how to type double consonants explains the letters themselves.

How to Type Hangul on a Samsung Phone

Samsung phones use the Samsung Keyboard by default, and the steps above mostly apply. Three details help.

• The language list is under Settings, General management, Samsung Keyboard settings, Languages and types.
• You can have Gboard and Samsung Keyboard installed at the same time. Only one is active. To change it, tap the keyboard icon that appears at the bottom-right when the keyboard is open, or use Default keyboard in Settings.
• Samsung Keyboard has a number row on top. Turn it on in the keyboard settings if you want faster numbers.

If you plan to use a phone brand not covered here, search its settings for "keyboard", find the keyboard app, and look for a languages entry. The same four moves apply.

What Are the Most Common Mistakes and How Do You Fix Them?

1. There is no Korean option. Your keyboard app may be an old version, or a different keyboard may be active. Update the keyboard app in the Play Store, or install Gboard. Then try again. Many phones also show a different language list at the top, so scroll.

2. The keyboard types English. You are still on the English layout. Tap the globe icon, or use the space-bar switch described in Step 3.

3. You chose Cheonjiin by mistake. The key arrangement is unusual: a few keys with strokes. Go back to Languages, tap Korean and switch the layout to QWERTY.

4. Letters do not join. The keyboard joins letters in writing order: consonant, vowel, final consonant. A vowel alone stays a vowel. To type the sound "a", tap ㅇ first and then ㅏ. See the page for a Korean keyboard not working for more fixes.

5. Predictive text changes your word. Suggestions can swap the block you meant. Turn off text correction in the keyboard settings while you practise, and tap the exact letters you want.

6. The keyboard switches back to English after a restart. Some keyboards remember the last language. Set Korean as the last used language, or tap the globe at the start of each session.

Practise with Eight Family Words

Family words are among the first Korean words most learners meet. The table lists the taps in order. A slash separates one syllable block from the next.

Look at 할아버지. The second syllable starts with the silent ㅇ, because 아 has no consonant sound at the start. You still tap ㅇ first. Also notice that 족 in 가족 ends in a single ㄱ, which takes one tap.

Gboard or Samsung Keyboard: Which Is Easier to Use?

You can use either keyboard for Korean. The table compares the main points for learners.

Pick whichever keyboard your phone already uses. Changing keyboard apps adds a step and rarely helps. If you want to try the other, install it from the Play Store and choose it as your default in Settings.

Voice Typing as a Listening Check

Gboard and some other keyboards offer voice typing. If you add Korean as a voice language, you can speak a word and see whether the phone writes it as you expected. This is not a replacement for learning to type, but it is a quick way to check your pronunciation of a short word. Because speech recognition is not perfect, treat the result as a hint and not a test.

A Five-Minute Practice Routine

• Minute 1: switch between English and Korean four times with the globe icon.
• Minutes 2 to 3: type the eight family words, saying each aloud.
• Minutes 4 to 5: write a short note listing your family members in Korean.

After a week, read the key map in the 2-beolsik keyboard layout lesson. The QWERTY layout on your phone follows it closely.

Watch the Screen Change, Tap by Tap

The Korean QWERTY keyboard redraws the block after every tap. The table shows what happens when you type the sounds 안자 and then compare it with 앉아. The first sequence leaves out the silent ㅇ, which shows why it matters.

At step 4 the screen shows 앉, with ㄴ and ㅈ together at the bottom as a final cluster. At step 5 you tap ㅏ, and the cluster splits. The ㄴ stays at the bottom of 안, and the ㅈ moves to the front of 자. The screen shows 안자. This is correct for the sound, because 앉아 is pronounced [안자] (anja). To keep the spelling 앉아, type the silent ㅇ before the vowel.

With the extra ㅇ at step 5, the screen keeps 앉 and adds 아. The spelling is 앉아, and you read it [안자].

Words Used in Android Settings

Android has many brands, so terms differ. These are the ones you will meet most.

Shift Letters and Compound Vowels on the QWERTY Layout

On the QWERTY layout, tense consonants need the Shift arrow. Compound vowels are two taps in a row.

These eight words give you four Shift consonants (ㄲ ㅃ ㄸ ㅆ) and four two-tap vowels (ㅘ ㅙ ㅟ ㅢ) to practise.

Type each word slowly the first time and watch the preview. If a tense consonant comes out plain, tap Shift first and try again. If a compound vowel splits into two separate vowels, check that you tapped the two vowels without tapping a consonant between them. Small checks like these teach you how the keyboard thinks, and that skill matters more than speed in the first week.

Where to Go Next

On an iPhone? The steps differ, so read how to type Korean on iPhone. To set up a Chromebook, the next guide is how to type Korean on Chromebook. The section overview is Korean keyboard install. To learn the letter positions, use the 2-beolsik keyboard layout lesson.

This page on how to type korean on android is a draft awaiting Korean review. The names of Android menus, Gboard layouts and Samsung settings vary by vendor and version, so they should be re-checked on a current device.

Frequently Asked Questions

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