How to Type Korean on Windows 11: a Practical Guide

What you need: a Windows 11 PC, an internet connection for the one-time download of language files, and permission to change settings on the device. No Korean keyboard hardware is needed. An ordinary English keyboard works.

Menu names change a little between Windows 11 updates. If a name below does not match your screen, use the search box at the top of Settings and search for "language". That search term stays stable across updates.

How to Type Korean on Windows 11: What Changes on Your PC

Typing Korean on Windows 11 means adding the Korean language, which brings the Microsoft Korean IME, and then switching to it when you want to write Hangul. An IME is a program that turns your key presses into Korean syllable blocks. When you press the keys G, K and S, the IME shows 한 on screen, not three separate letters.

The English keyboard does not go away. Windows keeps both, and you switch between them with a shortcut. The default layout of the Korean keyboard is 2-beolsik (두벌식), the standard layout described in 2-beolsik keyboard layout. Consonants are on the left half and vowels on the right half.

Step 1: Open Language Settings

1. Click the Start button, then click Settings. You can also press Win+I.
2. In the left menu, click Time & language.
3. Click Language & region.

Expected result: you see a list called Preferred languages. It shows English (or your current language) with a small keyboard icon.

If you cannot find the page, type "language" in the search box at the top of Settings and pick Language & region.

Step 2: Add Korean and Install

1. Next to Preferred languages, click Add a language.
2. In the search box, type Korean or 한국어. Click 한국어 / Korean.
3. Click Next.
4. On the next screen you see optional features such as a language pack, text-to-speech, speech recognition and handwriting. For typing, you need the keyboard and basic typing option. The other items are optional. Tick Set as my Windows display language only if you want the whole of Windows in Korean, which most learners do not want.
5. Click Install.

Expected result: Korean appears in your language list, and a progress bar shows the download. When it finishes, Korean has a keyboard icon under it.

Installing the keyboard alone is small. A full language pack with speech features is larger, so a slow connection takes longer. You do not have to wait for the optional parts before you type.

Step 3: Switch to Korean and Test

You now have two keyboards: English and Korean. Switch between them in either of two ways.

• Keyboard shortcut: press the Windows key and the space bar together (Win+Space). A small panel lists your keyboards. Press Space again while holding the Windows key to move down the list. Release both keys to pick the highlighted one.
• Taskbar: at the right of the taskbar, near the clock, you see a language code such as ENG. Click it and choose Korean.

Another shortcut, Alt+Shift, also switches input languages on many setups. It can be turned off in the advanced keyboard settings, so Win+Space is the most dependable.

Expected result: the taskbar code changes from ENG to KOR (or shows a Hangul indicator).

Turn on Hangul Mode

Once the Korean keyboard is selected, it has two modes inside it: Hangul mode, which types Korean letters, and English (Latin) mode, which types English letters from the same keyboard. The small indicator near the clock shows 가 for Hangul mode and A for English mode. Click the indicator to toggle, or use the Hangul/English key if your keyboard has one. On many keyboards without that key, the right Alt key works as the Hangul/English switch with the Microsoft Korean IME.

If the indicator shows A, you will see English letters even though the Korean keyboard is selected. This is the most common cause of "my Korean keyboard types English". Switch it to 가.

Type Your First Word

Open Notepad or any text box. Make sure Korean is selected and the indicator shows 가.

1. Press D (ㅇ), then K (ㅏ), then S (ㄴ). You see 안.
2. Press S (ㄴ), then U (ㅕ), then D (ㅇ). You see 안녕 (annyeong, "hello"; casual).

Notice that the second ㄴ does not join the first one, which stays at the bottom of 안. It waits as a loose letter until U (ㅕ) completes 녀. A final only moves to the next block when a vowel follows it directly, as when G, K, S, K turns 한 into 하나. The lesson on the 2-beolsik layout explains why.

Now try 한글 (hangeul, "Hangul"): press G, K, S, R, M, F.

If both words appear, your setup works. Test a third word with a double consonant: hold Shift and press Q (ㅃ), then release Shift and press K (ㅏ) to get 빠. Or type 아빠 (appa, "dad") with D, K, Shift+Q, K.

Windows 10 Differences

Windows 10 has almost the same steps, with different menu names.

In Windows 10 the keyboard options for Korean are under Language, then Options next to Korean, then the Microsoft IME entry. The Windows 11 Microsoft IME for Korean has a redesigned settings page, so the screens do not match exactly. Both versions use the same 2-beolsik layout by default.

Which Layout and Options Should You Choose?

The Microsoft Korean IME lets you pick a keyboard layout. For most learners, the answer is simple: keep 2-beolsik. It is the layout printed on Korean keyboards and used in schools, offices and phones. Every typing guide on this site, including the korean typing practice tool, uses it.

To check or change the layout:

1. Go back to Language & region.
2. Click the three dots next to Korean, then Language options.
3. Under Keyboards, click Microsoft IME, then Keyboard options (the name may differ in your version).
4. Look for the Korean keyboard layout setting, which shows options such as 2 Beolsik (the default), 3 Beolsik Final and 3 Beolsik 390.

3-beolsik (세벌식, sebeolsik, "three-set") has a separate key for final consonants. It is rare and takes more time to learn. See sebeolsik keyboard if you are curious, but choose 2-beolsik first.

Other options you may see are listed in the table.

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

1. Korean is installed, but English letters appear. The Korean keyboard has a Hangul mode and an English mode. Look at the indicator near the clock. If it shows A, click it to switch to 가.

2. The Korean option is not in the Win+Space list. The keyboard may not have finished installing. Open Language & region, click the three dots next to Korean, and make sure a keyboard is listed under Language options. If none is listed, click Add a keyboard and choose Microsoft IME.

3. Letters stay separate, like ㅎ ㅏ ㄴ, instead of joining. This usually means the app does not support IME composition, or you pressed the keys in the wrong order (a vowel with no consonant before it stays a lone vowel). Test in Notepad. If Notepad works, the problem is in the other app. The page on a Korean keyboard not working walks through each symptom.

4. Wrong letters appear. If you pressed Q and got a letter you did not expect, check the layout setting. A 3-beolsik layout puts the letters on different keys.

5. The Win+Space panel does not show up. Some remote desktop and gaming apps capture the Windows key. Click the taskbar indicator instead.

Practise with Eight Everyday Words

A working keyboard needs a little practice before it feels natural. The table lists eight everyday words with their keystrokes on a Windows keyboard. A comma separates one syllable block from the next, so you can see how the keys group.

Type one word, press Space, and type the next. Pressing Space finishes the word. If a word looks wrong, delete it with Backspace. Backspace removes one letter at a time inside a block, so 한 first becomes 하 and then ㅎ. That is useful, because you can fix a single wrong letter without retyping the whole syllable.

Check Korean in the Apps You Use

Setup is only useful if Korean works where you write. After the Notepad test, try three more places.

1. Your browser's address bar or a search box. Type 한글. Most browsers accept Hangul at once.
2. A document app. Open Word, Google Docs or another editor and type a short sentence. The IME underline appears while the block is unfinished.
3. A chat app. Type 안녕하세요 and look at the preview. Some chat apps send the message on Enter, so press Space and not Enter between words.

If one app fails and the others work, the problem is that app, not Windows. Check that the app is up to date, or try its web version. The troubleshooting page, Korean keyboard not working, covers this case.

A Five-Minute Practice Routine

Short, regular sessions fix the keys in your memory faster than one long session. Try this routine for the first week.

• Minute 1: switch to Korean with Win+Space, and switch back. Do it four times, until it feels automatic.
• Minutes 2 to 3: type the eight words in the table. Say each word aloud as you type it.
• Minutes 4 to 5: open the korean typing practice tool and do one drill.

After a week, move on to the full key map in the 2-beolsik keyboard layout lesson. That lesson shows each row, the Shift letters and the four most common beginner mistakes.

Watch the Screen Change, Key by Key

The Microsoft Korean IME redraws the block after every key. The table shows exactly what appears while you type 안녕. Compare it with your own screen.

Steps 3 and 4 are the interesting ones. At step 3 the ㄴ sits at the bottom of 안. At step 4, you press ㄴ again, and it appears next to 안 as a loose letter, because the IME has not seen a vowel yet. At step 5 the vowel ㅕ arrives and the loose ㄴ turns into the block 녀. At step 6 the final ㅇ completes 녕. If your screen follows the same pattern, the IME works exactly as it should.

Words Used in Windows Settings

Windows uses a few terms that mean different things. The table keeps them apart.

The most common confusion is between the display language and the preferred language. You can type Korean without changing the display language at all.

More Shortcuts and Where to Go Next

The Windows shortcuts are only a few. Win+Space switches keyboards. The Hangul/English key (or right Alt) toggles the mode inside the Korean keyboard. The page on Korean keyboard shortcuts lists more, including the Hanja key. Windows also offers a touch keyboard that you can switch to Korean, which is useful on a tablet.

To read about what an IME is and how it assembles blocks, see Korean IME.

Now that Korean typing is set up, learn where the letters are on the keys in the 2-beolsik keyboard layout lesson. If you use other devices, the Korean keyboard install section has a guide for each. Next in the section is the Mac guide.

This guide to how to type Korean on Windows 11 follows the current Settings layout. Menu names can shift between Windows updates, so if a label differs, search Settings for "language".

Frequently Asked Questions

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