How to Type Korean on iPhone: a Practical Guide

What you need: an iPhone (or iPad) with a recent version of iOS. No extra app is required. The steps are the same on an iPad, except that the iPad can also show a larger keyboard.

Apple changes menu names now and then. If a name below does not match your screen, open Settings and use the search field at the top. Search for "keyboards" to jump to the right page.

How to Type Korean on iPhone: What Changes on Your Phone

Typing Korean on an iPhone means adding the Korean keyboard to the list of keyboards and switching to it when you write. The keyboard makes Korean letters (jamo) and joins them into syllable blocks as you tap, so ㅎ, ㅏ and ㄴ become 한.

Your English keyboard stays on the phone. A new key with a globe icon appears, and you tap it to move between keyboards. The globe key only appears once you have added a second keyboard, which surprises many people. If you see only an emoji key, you have one keyboard.

iOS offers two Korean layouts. The next sections explain both so you can choose.

Step 1: Open Keyboard Settings

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Keyboard.
4. Tap Keyboards.

Expected result: you see a list of the keyboards you have, such as English, and an Add New Keyboard... row.

Step 2: Add Korean and Choose a Layout

1. Tap Add New Keyboard....
2. Scroll the language list and tap Korean (한국어). The list is in alphabetical order, so you can also use the search field.
3. Choose a layout: 2-Set or 10-Key. Some iOS versions label the QWERTY-style layout Standard instead of 2-Set.
4. Tap Done.

Expected result: Korean appears in your keyboards list, followed by the layout you picked. If you want to change the layout later, tap Korean in the list and pick the other one.

Which Korean Layout Should You Pick on iOS?

The two layouts are made for different habits. The table compares them.

For most learners, choose 2-Set. You learn the same layout once and use it on every device, and the 2-beolsik keyboard layout lesson then applies to your phone. The 10-Key layout is comfortable for thumbs, but the way letters are assembled is different, so skills do not carry over to a computer.

The 10-Key layout is similar in spirit to the cheonjiin keyboard offered on some Android keyboards, but the details differ.

Step 3: Switch and Test

1. Open any app with a text box, such as Notes or Messages. The keyboard appears.
2. Tap the globe key at the bottom of the keyboard. Each tap moves to the next keyboard.
3. Or, touch and hold the globe key. A list of your keyboards appears, and you slide your finger to pick one.

Expected result: the keyboard changes to Korean letters. The space bar may show the keyboard name.

Type Your First Word with 2-Set

The 2-Set keyboard has the same letter map as the computer layout, but it is rearranged on the screen.

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

The first ㄴ stays at the bottom of 안. The second ㄴ cannot join it, so it waits as a loose letter until ㅕ completes 녀. A final consonant moves to the next block only when a vowel follows it directly: tap ㅎ, ㅏ, ㄴ, ㅏ and 한 turns into 하나. This is normal. The keyboard waits to see what you tap next.

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

How Do I Type Tense Consonants?

Tense consonants (ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ) are the doubled letters. They are pronounced with a tight throat and no puff of air. On the 2-Set keyboard, you type them with the Shift arrow.

1. Tap the Shift key (an arrow at the left of the bottom letter row). It highlights.
2. Tap the key with the plain letter. Tapping the ㅂ key gives ㅃ, ㅈ gives ㅉ, ㄷ gives ㄸ, ㄱ gives ㄲ, and ㅅ gives ㅆ.
3. The vowels ㅐ and ㅔ turn into ㅒ and ㅖ the same way.

Shift turns off by itself after one tap, as on an English keyboard. Try 아빠 (appa, "dad"): ㅇ, ㅏ, Shift + ㅂ, ㅏ.

On the 10-Key layout, you do not use Shift. Instead you tap a consonant key repeatedly to cycle through its forms, such as a plain consonant, its aspirated form and its tense form. The exact cycle order depends on the key, so watch the screen as you tap and stop when the right letter appears. The page on how to type double consonants explains the sounds and the typing on a computer.

The three letters also differ in sound. 바 (ba) is plain, 파 (pa) is aspirated, and 빠 (ppa) is tense. Typing the right one matters, because they spell different words.

Turn on Predictive Text and Other Options

The iPhone can suggest Korean words above the keyboard. These are called predictive suggestions.

1. Open Settings, then General, then Keyboard.
2. Check that Predictive is on.

Suggestions help you finish words, but they also hide the block-forming steps while you practise. Turn them off for the first week if you want to see exactly what you type. Two other settings are worth a look.

You can also use the same Korean keyboard on an iPad. The steps in Settings are the same.

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

1. There is no globe key. The globe key shows up only after you add a second keyboard. Add Korean in Settings, then open a text box. If you still see only an emoji key, tap and hold it to see your list.

2. The keyboard types English. You are still on the English keyboard. Tap the globe key until Korean letters appear.

3. The wrong layout is installed. If you chose 10-Key and wanted 2-Set, go to Settings, General, Keyboard, Keyboards, tap Korean and change the layout. Or remove the Korean keyboard and add it again.

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

5. Shift is stuck or does not give the tense letter. On 2-Set, tap Shift once before the letter. If the key does not seem to work, tap the Shift arrow twice to lock it, then tap it again to unlock.

6. Your keyboard order is wrong. Open Settings, General, Keyboard, Keyboards, tap Edit and drag keyboards into the order you like.

Practise with Eight Texting Words

On a phone, you tap letters on the screen and not keys, so the table below lists the taps in order. A slash separates one syllable block from the next. Compound vowels such as ㅝ take two taps in a row (ㅜ then ㅓ), and the keyboard joins them.

These are the words you will use in messages. Notice 좋아요. The first syllable ends in ㅎ, which is silent here, but you still tap it, because it is part of the spelling. Spelling follows the rules, not only the sound.

Use Korean in Your Messages

After setup, you can use Korean in any app with a text box, including Messages, Notes, Mail and chat apps. A few habits make it smoother.

• Switch before you type. The keyboard does not switch by itself. Tap the globe key when you start a Korean message.
• Watch the suggestion bar. Tapping a suggestion replaces the word you are building, so check it before you tap.
• Check the preview. If you see a loose vowel such as ㅏ, you probably left out the silent ㅇ in front of it.

Choosing between 2-Set and 10-Key in Practice

If you are unsure which to choose, try both for one day each. The 2-Set keyboard needs more precise taps because the keys are small. The 10-Key keyboard has larger keys but needs more taps per letter. Some learners start with 10-Key because the keys are big, then move to 2-Set because it matches the computer. You can keep both keyboards in the list and switch between them with the globe key.

If you plan to write on a computer as well, finish with 2-Set. The 2-beolsik keyboard layout lesson then works for both devices.

A Five-Minute Practice Routine

• Minute 1: switch keyboards with the globe key four times.
• Minutes 2 to 3: type the eight words in the table, saying each aloud.
• Minutes 4 to 5: write one short message to yourself in Notes using words you know.

Do this for a week, then move to the key map lesson.

Watch the Screen Change, Tap by Tap

The Korean keyboard redraws the block after every tap. The table shows what appears while you type 사랑해요 on the 2-Set layout. Compare it with your screen.

Look at steps 3 and 4 first. After ㅅ and ㅏ you tap ㄹ, and the screen shows 살. When you tap ㅏ at step 4, the ㄹ jumps to the front of the next block, and the screen shows 사라. Then look at steps 6 and 7. After 랑, you tap ㅎ, and the screen shows 사랑ㅎ with ㅎ loose, until you tap the vowel ㅐ, which makes 해. The block 요 is the silent ㅇ plus ㅛ. If your keyboard builds the word the same way, the setup is right.

Words Used in iPhone Settings

iOS uses a few terms that are easy to mix up.

Adding a keyboard does not change the language of iOS itself. Your menus and apps stay in English.

Shift Letters and Compound Vowels on the 2-Set Layout

On the 2-Set keyboard, tense consonants need the Shift arrow. Compound vowels are two taps in a row. The tables list the taps, and the tense letters are shown as they appear on the screen after Shift.

Tap Shift, then the consonant. The Shift arrow then relaxes by itself. For the compound vowels, tap the first vowel and then the second without a pause.

Where to Go Next

If you also have a computer, set it up with the Windows 11 guide or the Mac guide. The Mac steps are different from the iPhone steps. Android phones are covered in how to type Korean on Android. For the section overview, see Korean keyboard install.

To learn the letter positions, read the 2-beolsik keyboard layout lesson.

This guide to how to type Korean on iPhone follows recent iOS versions. Apple renames menus from time to time, so if a label differs, search Settings for "keyboards".

Frequently Asked Questions

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