Korean Typing ⌨️

Stage 1 · Meet the Keyboard 키보드 소개

The 2-Set Keyboard (두벌식) 두벌식 자판

Almost everyone in Korea types on the same layout: the 2-set keyboard, called 두벌식 (dubeolsik). It has been the national standard since 1985. "2-set" means the letters come in exactly two groups — consonants and vowels — and each group gets its own side of the keyboard. You never type a whole syllable block yourself. You type the letters one at a time, in the order you would say them, and the computer builds the block for you.

• Consonants sit under your LEFT hand — ㅂ ㅈ ㄷ ㄱ ㅅ on the top row, ㅁ ㄴ ㅇ ㄹ ㅎ on the home row, ㅋ ㅌ ㅊ ㅍ on the bottom row.
• Vowels sit under your RIGHT hand — ㅛ ㅕ ㅑ ㅐ ㅔ on the top row, ㅗ ㅓ ㅏ ㅣ on the home row, ㅠ ㅜ ㅡ on the bottom row.
• Shift gives you the doubles — hold Shift and the five tense consonants ㅃ ㅉ ㄸ ㄲ ㅆ appear on ㅂ ㅈ ㄷ ㄱ ㅅ, plus the two wide vowels ㅒ ㅖ on ㅐ ㅔ.
• That is the whole layout: 26 plain keys and 7 shifted ones. Learn 33 keys and you can write every Korean word there is.

How Syllables Assemble 음절이 만들어지는 방법

Korean writing stacks letters into square blocks, but you do not have to draw those blocks. You just type the letters in order and they snap together on their own. Type ㅎ, then ㅏ, then ㄴ, and 한 appears one piece at a time: ㅎ → 하 → 한. Nothing else to press, no menu, no confirm key.

• Type the letters in speaking order: opening consonant, then vowel, then the final consonant (받침) if the syllable has one.
• A block closes by itself as soon as the next letter cannot fit into it. Type ㄱ ㅏ ㅁ ㅏ and you get 가마, not 감아 — the second ㅏ needs a consonant in front of it, so ㅁ jumps forward to start a new block.
• This jump is called 받침 stealing, and it is exactly what Korean typists rely on. Type ㄱ ㅏ ㄱ ㅅ ㅏ and you get 각사: 가 → 각 → 갃 → 각사, with ㅅ pulled out of the double 받침 the moment the ㅏ arrives.
• Backspace peels off one letter, not one block. From 각 it goes to 가, then to ㄱ, then to nothing.

Stage 2 · Consonant Keys 자음 키

Keyboard keys

Stage 3 · Vowel Keys 모음 키

Keyboard keys

Stage 4 · Shift Keys 쌍자음 키

Keyboard keys

Stage 5 · Type Syllables 음절 입력

Typing practice

Consonant Drill

A consonant appears — press its key. 20 letters in a row.

Go for accuracy, not speed. Slow and correct builds the habit; fast and wrong builds a habit you will have to unlearn. The speed comes on its own once your fingers stop hunting.

Vowel Drill

A vowel appears — press its key. 15 letters in a row.

Every one of these is under your right hand. If you find yourself looking down, try naming the finger before you press — index, middle, ring, little.

Simple Syllables

Type each syllable: one consonant, then one vowel. It completes on its own.

Two keystrokes each, and every one of them is left hand then right hand. There is no key to press to "finish" the block — the moment the vowel lands, the syllable is done and the drill moves on.

Syllables With a 받침

Type each syllable: consonant, vowel, then the final consonant underneath.

Three keystrokes each: left, right, left. Watch the block change shape as the third letter drops into place — 하 becomes 한 the instant you press ㄴ.

Combined Vowels

These vowels are two keys, typed one after the other.

ㅘ has no key of its own — you type ㅗ then ㅏ and the two merge. Same idea for ㅝ (ㅜ + ㅓ), ㅢ (ㅡ + ㅣ), ㅙ (ㅗ + ㅐ) and ㅟ (ㅜ + ㅣ). Only ㅐ ㅔ ㅒ ㅖ have their own keys.

Stage 6 · Type Words 단어 입력

Typing practice

One-Syllable Words

Type the word, then press Space to send it.

Word mode is different from the syllable drill: nothing advances until you press Space. That is your submit key. If you mistype, Backspace peels off one letter at a time so you can fix it before you send.

Two-Syllable Words

Type the whole word, then press Space.

Keep typing straight through the word — do not pause between the syllables. 한국 is six keystrokes in one run: ㅎ ㅏ ㄴ ㄱ ㅜ ㄱ. The blocks divide themselves.

Everyday Phrases

Type the whole phrase, then press Space.

These are the polite phrases you will type most often in Korean, so they are worth turning into muscle memory. Take them one syllable at a time and let the blocks build; there is no prize for rushing.

60-Second Sprint

Type as many words as you can in 60 seconds. Space sends each one.

Korean typing speed is counted in 타/분 — keystrokes per minute, not words per minute. An average Korean adult types somewhere around 300–400 타/분. If you are over 200 as a beginner, you are doing well; Korean professionals run past 600.

Type Korean on Your Own Devices 내 기기에 한국어 자판 추가하기

First, the honest part: you do not need to install anything to practise here. Every drill in this lesson works with no Korean keyboard on your device at all — the page reads which physical key you pressed, and on a phone you simply tap the keys on screen. But once you want to text a Korean friend, search in Korean, or fill in a form, you need a real Korean keyboard on your device. Here is how to add one. Everywhere below, pick the plain 2-set / 두벌식 layout — it is the same one you just learned.

• iPhone / iPad — Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard… → Korean. It then asks which layout: choose Standard (that is 두벌식; "10 Key" is the small phone-pad layout instead). Switch keyboards by holding the 🌐 globe key at the bottom of the keyboard.
• Android — easiest from the keyboard itself: open any app you can type in, tap the ⚙ settings icon on the keyboard's top bar → Languages → Add keyboard → Korean → 2벌식 (2-set) → Done. Via the Settings app it is Settings → System → Keyboard → On-screen keyboard → Gboard → Languages → Add keyboard. To switch while typing, touch and hold the space bar.
• Windows 11 — Settings → Time & language → Language & region → Add a language → search 한국어 (Korean) → Next → Install. Switch input with Win + Space. Once Korean is selected, the right Alt key toggles between Hangul and English — on a Korean keyboard that key is printed 한/영.
• macOS — System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit… → click + → Korean → 2-Set Korean → Add. Switch input sources with Ctrl + Space; with Korean active, Caps Lock flips between Hangul and English.

What you have learned

You can type Korean! — 이제 한국어를 칠 수 있어요!

Excellent work — you have learned all 33 keys of the 두벌식 keyboard, typed syllables with and without a 받침, handled the combined vowels, and run a full 60-second sprint. Keep the speed going with the free typing pad just below this lesson: type any Korean word you like and watch the blocks build themselves. 화이팅!