2-Beolsik Keyboard Layout: Where Every Korean Letter Sits

Before you start: you need a Korean keyboard added on your device. If you have not done that, follow Korean keyboard install first, then come back. You also should recognise the basic letters from the Korean consonants and Korean vowels lessons, although you can learn the keys and the letters together.

What Is the 2-Beolsik Keyboard Layout?

The 2-beolsik layout puts the 14 basic Korean consonants and the 10 basic vowels onto the 26 letter keys of an ordinary English keyboard. The name means "two sets": one set of consonant keys and one set of vowel keys. It is the layout on almost every Korean computer and phone, and the Korean national standard for it is KS X 5002.

The word for the Korean alphabet is 한글 (hangeul). Say it aloud before you learn to type it.

Three facts make the layout simple:

• One key, one letter. Every key makes one Korean letter (jamo). On seven keys, Shift gives a second letter: the five tense consonants and the vowels ㅒ and ㅖ.
• Two zones. The left side of the keyboard holds consonants. The right side holds vowels.
• Order of writing. You type a syllable in the same order you write it: first consonant, then vowel, then any final consonant.

The English letters printed on the keys are only a guide to position. The key marked K makes the vowel ㅏ, not a "k" sound. This is why the map below lists the key letter next to each Korean letter.

Why English Speakers Struggle Here

English speakers meet three surprises. Knowing them in advance saves a lot of frustration.

First, the printed letters lie. In English, the key marked D types "d". In Korean, D types ㅇ, a letter that is silent at the start of a syllable and sounds like "ng" at the end. The key marked S types ㄴ, which sounds like "n". Touch typists expect the sound to match the key, and it does not. Learn Korean typing by position, not by sound.

Second, there is no separate key for final consonants. A final consonant (받침, batchim) is the consonant at the bottom of a block, like ㄴ in 한. English learners often hunt for a "bottom" key. There is none. The same ㄴ key makes the initial ㄴ in 나 and the final ㄴ in 한. The input method decides where the letter goes from what you type next.

Third, there are no spaces inside a syllable. In English you type letters one after another and a word grows to the right. In Korean, the letters pile into a block, and the block grows up and down as well as sideways. You still press the keys one after another, with no pause or special key between letters.

The next section shows the keys themselves.

How Is the Layout Arranged?

The layout uses the three rows of letter keys. Every key on the left half (Q W E R T, A S D F G, Z X C V) is a consonant. Every key on the right half (Y U I O P, H J K L, B N M) is a vowel. There are no exceptions in the unshifted layout.

Why this design? A Korean syllable nearly always starts with a consonant and then has a vowel. With consonants on the left and vowels on the right, the two hands take turns, which makes typing smooth. The left hand types the first letter, the right hand types the vowel, and then the left hand returns for the final consonant.

Here is the idea in a picture of one block: for 한, the left hand presses G (ㅎ), the right hand presses K (ㅏ), and the left hand presses S (ㄴ). Left, right, left.

Which Letters Are on Each Row?

Each table lists the key and the Korean letter on it. All letters shown are the plain (unshifted) letters.

Count the keys. The left hand has 14 consonant keys (5 + 5 + 4), so all 14 basic consonants are there. The right hand has 12 vowel keys (5 + 4 + 3). Ten of them are the basic vowels ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ. The other two, on O and P, are ㅐ and ㅔ. Together that is 14 + 12 = 26 letter keys, and no key is left over. For the full letter inventory, see the lessons on Korean consonants and Korean vowels.

Shift Letters

Holding Shift gives the tense consonants and two extra vowels.

Only seven keys change with Shift. All the other letters stay the same whether Shift is held or not. Because the tense consonants are doubled letters, they are called double consonants. The page on how to type double consonants practises them in words.

Compound Vowels and Double Finals

Compound vowels such as ㅘ have no key of their own. You press two vowel keys in a row.

Final clusters such as ㄳ also take two keys. The page on how to type Korean final consonants covers them.

How Do Keystrokes Become a Syllable Block?

The computer program that does this is called an input method editor, or IME. It is part of your operating system. It reads each key, works out which block the letters belong to, and redraws the block as you type. Korean typing follows three simple rules.

1. A consonant followed by a vowel starts a block. G then K gives 하.
2. A consonant after that block is a possible final. Add S and you get 한, with ㄴ at the bottom.
3. If a vowel follows that final, the final jumps to the next block. Add K again and 한 changes to 하나: the ㄴ leaves the bottom of the first block and becomes the start of the second block.

The third rule surprises people the first time, because it looks as if the screen "changed its mind". It did. The IME cannot know whether ㄴ is a final or the start of the next syllable until it sees what comes next. It matches Korean spelling: a consonant letter followed directly by a vowel letter always starts a new block.

Try it with the word 하나 (hana, "one", in the native Korean number system). Type G, K, S, K. After three keys you see 한. After the fourth key you see 하나.

This is the reason Korean typing needs no key for final consonants. It also explains the silent ㅇ: to type a syllable with no sound at the start, such as 아, you press D (ㅇ) first, then K (ㅏ).

How Do I Learn the Layout Quickly?

Use three steps in this order. Each takes about five to ten minutes.

1. Learn the home row first. Rest your left fingers on A S D F and your right fingers on J K L (and the ; key beside L on many keyboards). The nine home-row keys are ㅁ ㄴ ㅇ ㄹ ㅎ ㅗ ㅓ ㅏ ㅣ. Type 아, 이, 나, 라 until you do not need to look.
2. Add the top row, then the bottom row. Learn five or six keys at a time and test them on short words.
3. Practise with real words. Words teach the keys in context and make you feel the left-right rhythm.

Here is a finger map for the home row.

Keep your fingers on the home row and reach up or down for the other keys, then return. Repetition works better than clever tricks.

You can also practise with the korean typing practice tool, which highlights the next key on a diagram, and with the printable korean keyboard layout sheet.

Worked Example: 한글

Typing 한글 takes six keystrokes: G, K, S, R, M, F.

Look at step 4. The letter ㄱ appears next to 한 as a loose consonant, because the IME has not yet seen a vowel. Step 5 adds ㅡ, which completes 그. Step 6 adds ㄹ as the final of the second block. The word is 한글 (hangeul).

Now a longer word. 한국어 (hangugeo, "the Korean language") is typed G, K, S, R, N, R, D, J. Read it block by block: 한 is G K S, 국 is R N R (ㄱ, ㅜ, ㄱ), and 어 is D J (silent ㅇ, ㅓ). Notice the same R key makes ㄱ at the start and at the end of 국.

One more: 사랑 (sarang, "love") is T, K, F, K, D. The block 사 is T K, and 랑 is F K D, with ㅇ as the final consonant "ng". The final ㅇ uses the same D key as the silent ㅇ in 아.

Ten Words to Practise

Type each word without looking at the keys. The keystrokes are given for checking only.

Say each word as you type it. The sound and the keys reinforce each other.

Common Learner Mistakes

Assuming the key letter matches the sound. Learners press K for ㅋ because the English letter K says "k". The Korean ㅋ is on Z, and K makes the vowel ㅏ. Fix: say the Korean letter name while you press the key, not the English one.

Swapping ㅓ and ㅏ, and ㅡ and ㅜ. J makes ㅓ (eo) and K makes ㅏ (a). M makes ㅡ (eu) and N makes ㅜ (u). These pairs sit side by side and look similar, so beginners swap them. Fix: type 어, 아, 으, 우 in a row, ten times, and check each one.

Looking for a final-consonant key. There is none. Type the consonant after the vowel and the IME places it at the bottom. If it shows up at the start of the next block, check whether a vowel followed.

Forgetting the silent ㅇ. A block that starts with a vowel sound still needs ㅇ first. To type 아이 (ai, "child") press D, K, D, L. Without the first D you would type the bare vowel ㅏ, which is not a full syllable block.

Practice and Answer Key

Type these items, then check yourself against the answers below.

1. Which key makes ㅂ?
2. Which key makes ㅡ?
3. Type the keys for 나무.
4. Type the keys for 학교.
5. Which keys make ㅘ?
6. What does Shift plus R give?
7. Which hand types most consonants?
8. Why does 한 change into 하나 when you press K?

Answers.

1. Q.
2. M.
3. S, K, A, N.
4. G, K, R, R, Y.
5. H then K.
6. ㄲ.
7. The left hand.
8. Because a vowel after a final consonant means the consonant starts the next block.

If you missed more than two, repeat the home-row step and the ten words.

Where to Go Next

The next lesson is Type Double Consonants in Korean, which puts the Shift letters into words. For the section overview, go back to Korean keyboard layout or to how to type in Korean. If your keyboard is not set up yet, start with Korean keyboard install.

This lesson covers the standard 2-beolsik keyboard layout only. The rarer three-set layout is explained in sebeolsik keyboard, and the 12-key phone layout in cheonjiin keyboard.

Frequently Asked Questions

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