Korean keyboard layout
If you have been wondering how to input Hangul into your computer, phone or tablet here is a simple guide for typing Korean letters. First we will give you all the steps you need to properly set up your device to type Korean alphabet and then explain how to type Hangul. The good news is, you don’t really need to buy Hangul keyboard, every suggestion here is a free Korean keyboard.
Check out others in series of articles about typing Korean:
- Windows 10: How to change keyboard language to Korean
- Korean alphabet keyboard stickers
- Touch typing Korean with all ten fingers
- MoAKey the Android touchscreen Korean keyboard
As you already know Hangul is Korean alphabet, but instead of being written sequentially (in a horizontal line one after the other) like Latin letters, Hangul letters are grouped into blocks. How these blocks are formed can be confusing for the person attempting to type in Korean it for the first time. Don’t worry, it is all automatic and easier than you think.
Contents:
- Windows
- How to enable Korean keyboard in Windows
- Typing
- Android
- How to enable Korean keyboard on Android device
- Typing
- iPhone
- How to enable Korean keyboard on iPhone
- Typing
- Virtual Keyboards for typing Korean
- Type Korean using Romanization
1. Windows
How to enable Korean keyboard in Windows
Find the icon on the right side of your taskbar that shows which language you have enabled at the moment. Right click it and choose Settings.
(If you are unable to find it, go to Control Panel -> Region and Language, on the Keyboards and Languages tab, click Change keyboards.)
Click the Add… button on the right side.
Scroll down to find Korean and check the box for Microsoft IME. Click OK.
Now Korean keyboard has been added to your list.
Click OK again.
You can toggle between multiple keyboards by pressing Alt+Shift at the same time. You will see the two letters change to indicate which keyboard is active at the moment. If you press AltGr (right Alt) you will toggle between using Latin alphabet marked by A
or Hangul marked by 가.
You are ready to type Hangul and impress everyone with your knowledge of Korean!
Typing Hangul using computer keyboard
Let’s say you want to type 사랑해요. Assuming you have keyboard with Latin alphabet you are going to press T -> K -> F
and on your screen 살 will show up. You might think: “But I wantㄹ in the second syllable, not first!”. No worries. As soon as you press K
this is going to happen 사라. The “ㄹ” is automatically moved to the next syllable. Computer knows that the combination 살ㅏ is impossible in Korean language so it knows to move the “ㄹ” into the next syllable. Neat, right?
Now just continue D -> G -> O -> D -> Y
And you have 사랑해요!
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To get double consonants like ㅉ press SHIFT+ㅈ.
Here is a Korean keyboard layout, click on it to see it full size.
you can save this picture on your computer and use it, or buy cute Korean alphabet keyboard stickers like the ones I got from Korea, and put them on your keyboard so you know where each letter is.
2. Android
How to enable Korean keyboard on Android device
Visit Android Market on your device. Search for “Korean keyboard”. I use Korean Hangul Keyboard (Beta) but you can choose any you like. Note that all the keyboards I came across are not apps but have to be enabled through Settings.
Click Settings, then choose Language & input, then Configure input methods. Select keyboards you installed.
Typing Korean on Android tablet or Android phone
Different keyboards have different input methods but you can find explanations how to use them in the app description. There are usually two main types, those that come with full keyboard like this one:
Full keyboard for Android.
After pressing shift letters like ㅉ,ㄸ,ㄲ,… become available.
which is convenient for bigger devices like tablets, and those that are more compact like this one:
You can find this keyboard by searching ‘Moakey’ on Android Market.
and thus convenient for phones. This particular Android touchscreen keyboard is called Moakey. It has a neat trick to use them. You might notice the vowels are missing on this one. You simply choose the consonant you wish to start the syllable with, and then swipe your finger in different directions to get different consonants. Here is a schematic for getting syllables that start with consonant ㅇ. You put your finger on the key you want and then without lifting your finger move it in the direction of the arrows to get the desired syllable. Click on the link above to see the video tutorial and further instructions.
3. iPhone
How to enable Korean keyboard on iPhone
Choose Settings, then General
Click Keyboard.
Click International Keyboards.
Click Add New Keyboard, and then choose Korean. This is what you keyboard will look like:
Typing Korean on iPhone
All letters are available on this keyboard, press SHIFT (arrow up) for double consonants and globe icon for switching between keyboards. Other than that the typing is the same as if you were using a physical computer keyboard. See the above.
4. Virtual Korean keyboards
Korean virtual keyboard is any online keyboards which you can use with only the help of your web browser. They are convenient if you don’t want to go trough trouble of setting up the keyboard on your device, or you need the keyboard rarely. You simply click with your mouse on the letters you need, one by one. Here are links to some of them:
5. Type Korean using Romanization
If you want to input Korean by only typing Romanization, for example by typing h a n g eu l to get 한글 you can use this website
Check the radio button that says “Revised Romanization” and type away. When you’re finished, copy paste the Hangul text and you’re done.
Even though this way you don’t need to memorize Korean keyboard layout, we still strongly suggest you take your time to do so. It is faster, more proper, and you can type directly without bothering to copy-paste. However, typing Korean using Romanization can be faster in the beginning and can also help you to learn how to properly romanize Korean language.
We hope this will be helpful to you. In case you prefer traditional methods rather than all this technological stuff, check out introduction to Korean calligraphy. If you have any questions or if you would like to recommend a Korean Hangul keyboard that you like to use, feel free write in the comments bellow.
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Loving Korean | Boyfriend in Korea 
OK, good tips but, how do you type diphthongs like wo, we, wae…? they don’t appear in the keyboard
Dipthongs puzzled me too at first! Initially, I used the Wandel virtual keyboard when I had to type dipthongs. Then I figured out that if I just type the vowels that make up the dipthong, the Hangul comes out right. For example. If I want to type 외, then I start with ㅇ plus ㅗ plus l and it gives me 외.
워 is ㅇ + ㅜ +ㅓ
왜 is ㅇ + ㅗ + ㅐand so forth.
Exactly. It may be confusing when looking at it from Romanization wo, we, etc., but when you start from Hangul ㅝ is nothing else than pressing ㅜ and ㅓ in succession, exactly like you said.
Dipthongs are combination vowels, ㅘ, is ㅗ then press ㅏ
ㅢ, is. ㅡ. then. ㅣ
ㅝ, is. ㅜ. plus. ㅓ
This should since the computer tests the grammetical logic and produces the character.
Hi, I’m Widi from Indonesia.
I have a problem with Hangul character combinations in my Android phone. I downloaded Kii Keyboard and the add-on Korean dictionary. But everytime I try to combine characters, they won’t show. So I WhatsApp-ed my brother and typed in the three-character-syllable “nan”. In his phone, the syllable I typed in showed. Even the words he typed in too. But I can’t see them on my phone. They were just blank.
What should I do? Is there anything I should change in my keyboard settings? Would totally appreciate if you could help. Would help me in learning (especially writing) Hangul.
Sorry, it’s really difficult for me to figure out what’s wrong just from your description. How about trying to install a different keyboard on your Android phone? At least that way you will know if the error is due to your phone or just a glitch in the app.
I’ve installed all sorts of keyboards. I think there’s something about the phone that restricts it from being able to display certain languages.
That’s really strange. My Android device is European, there should be no reason for it to show Korean, and yet I had no issues whatsoever.
I agree. My first thought blamed the app. 한글 접촉식 키보드, is the app I use on my Android.
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wow,..but i still can’t read korean actually lol
I love the way the keyboard works on my Samsung Galaxy Note 3. When I want to switch from English to Korean, I just swipe the space bar and wa-la! English (swipe) Korean (swipe) back to English. It is simple beauty. So much more awkward in Windows.
I’m so used to hitting the ALT + SHIFT by now that I don’t even notice ^^ Maybe cause I’ve been switching between English and my own language all my life.
But you are right, swiping does sound much easier.
Wow this is so cool! Haven’t tried it yet because I have a Mac, but I installed Windows on it, so I’m definitely doing this the next time I switch over.
Hi, I am Stella from Japan, I enjoy typing Korean with keyboard and I could type Korean as fast as Japanese. Practice my typing skill with a kids game called 키즈짱 타자, found it on http://www.learnkoreanwords.com/korean-keyboard .. it’s an article to read if you really want to learn to type Korean
i have downloaded it on my phone but i find it difficult to use pls help me.
Maybe you can try out Moakey and see if it’s easier for you to use. It takes a while but after you get a hang of it it’s really quick to use.
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where in seoul did you buy your korean keyboard stickers! i been looking all over for them~
I got them online from Gmarket. I’ve never even been to Seoul :)
I stumbled across this site because apparently I do not get how to type Korean properly. I can write it, yes, but those keyboard layouts do not work. It was only recently that I wanted to type what would read “Peurodyusa” in Romanisation (the title of a Korean TV series, it seems; meaning “producer”). I have not gotten beyond the first syllable. Is it really the case that I cannot type sound clusters which actually exist with that keyboard layout (would be a shame indeed for Korean engineering, only needs a next-block key and all would be fine)? Or is there any option to enforce “stay with this very syllable unless you are told otherwise”?
My outcome so far: ㅠㅡ로듀사 . This is not exactly the way the title is written.
Can anyone help? It feels a bit frustrating, being unable to express oneself as one would like to do.
Regards from Germany!
The Producers is spelled 프로듀사 in Korean.
So you press ㅍ, then ㅡ, then ㄹ, then ㅗ, then ㄷ, etc. In exactly the same order as when you write them by hand.
You don’t press anything between syllables, just type letters in succession and the computer will sort them correctly into syllables by itself.
I use http://loderi.com/korean-virtual-keyboard-online
Seems like a nice little virtual keyboard. Thanks
Thanks so much! Now i can type hangul without going to google translate
츰 연예 이들 기들, 떠 던 구간 아이더 씽구 겄다; 회엦다:
뿍 차던 차이음 아이 끼토 헐고,
쀽 차던 배회서 아이 끼토-한 요,
뿍 처던, 꾸쎰크테 아이 끼토, 회엦다.
크 해던 고씨요 서슴에
부단 빠차 가찡 아이다.
Translated:
It is written in the Doctrine of the Means, that anyone can learn the meaning of those Duties…
Some are born knowing it,
Some know it by learning,
Some- spend a lifetime to know it.
Either way, the message is the same.
i can’t write “좋은” this word??? where is double ㅗ? 조ㅗㅇ? how can i type this word? i just copied it from a web
I think you are reading it as ㅈ + ㅗ + ㅗ + ㅇ instead of ㅈ + ㅗ + ㅎ. ㅎ is a letter on its own, pronounced most similarly to “h”, and you can find it on your keyboard where Roman letter “g” is.