Your first day at a language exchange in Sinchon. The organizer hands you a name tag and a marker and says, "Write your name in Korean!" Everyone else scribbles happily.
You stare at the tag. Your name is Chris, which is one syllable. But you vaguely remember it needs three Korean blocks? And what letter is "r" anyway? You write CHRIS in capitals and hope nobody notices.
To write your name in Korean, spell how it sounds, not how it is written in English, and give every consonant cluster its own syllable block.
Korean has no F, V, Z or separate R and L, so a few sounds need a stand-in. Once you know the swaps, any name takes about a minute.
Why can’t I just swap letters one by one?
Because English spelling is famously weird. “Sean,” “Shawn” and “Shaun” all sound the same, so in Korean they are all 숀 (syon). Meanwhile “Michael” has letters (c, h, a, e) that you do not actually pronounce the way they look.
Michael → 미차엘 mi-cha-el
Sean → 세안 se-an
Michael → 마이클 ma-i-keul
Sean → 숀 syon
Say your name slowly out loud, listen to each sound, and then pick the closest Hangul letter. The Korean name generator does this for you, but it helps to know why it picks what it picks.
Which Korean letters replace F, V, R and L?
These are the sounds Korean does not have. Koreans use the same swaps for every English word, so you will see them on menus and signs too: coffee is 커피 (keopi), and “fighting!” is 파이팅 (paiting).
| English sound | Korean letter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| F | ㅍ (p) | Fiona → 피오나 |
| V | ㅂ (b) | Victoria → 빅토리아 |
| R | ㄹ | Ryan → 라이언 |
| L | ㄹ (ㄹㄹ between vowels) | Emily → 에밀리 |
| Z | ㅈ (j) | Zoe → 조이 |
| TH (as in “thin”) | ㅅ (s) | Ethan → 이선 |
| SH | 시 / ㅅ + vowel | Ashley → 애슐리 |
| X | ㄱ + 스 | Max → 맥스 |
R and L share one letter, ㄹ, but there is a neat trick to keep them apart. An L between two vowels is written with a double ㄹ: one at the bottom of the first block, one at the top of the next. That is why Olivia is 올리비아 (ol-li-bi-a), Lily is 릴리 (ril-li) and Emily is 에밀리 (e-mil-li). An R between vowels gets just one ㄹ, so Sarah is 세라 (se-ra) and Karen is 캐런 (kae-reon).
An R after a vowel at the end of a syllable usually disappears, just like in British English. Peter is 피터 (pi-teo), Jennifer is 제니퍼 (je-ni-peo), and Taylor is 테일러 (te-il-leo).
How do English vowels map to Hangul?
Korean vowels are pure and short, so English diphthongs (gliding vowels) get split into two letters.
| English vowel sound | Hangul | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a in “cat” | ㅐ | Sam → 샘, Jack → 잭 |
| e in “bed” | ㅔ | Ben → 벤, Kevin → 케빈 |
| ee in “see” | ㅣ | Steve → 스티브 |
| i in “sit” | ㅣ | Chris → 크리스, Nick → 닉 |
| o in “go” | ㅗ | Sophia → 소피아 |
| oo in “food” | ㅜ | Luke → 루크 |
| uh / the “er” sound | ㅓ | Jennifer → 제니퍼 |
| ay in “say” | 에이 | Kate → 케이트, Grace → 그레이스 |
| i in “time” | 아이 | Michael → 마이클, Ryan → 라이언 |
| oy in “boy” | 오이 | Zoe → 조이, Chloe → 클로이 |
Why does “Chris” need three blocks?
Every Korean syllable block needs a vowel. English loves to stack consonants with no vowel between them, like the “Chr” in Chris or the “s” at the end. Korean fixes this by adding the quiet vowel ㅡ (eu), a short “uh” sound with your lips relaxed.
The same thing happens in Grace (그레이스, geu-re-i-seu), Steve (스티브, seu-ti-beu) and Frank (프랭크, peu-raeng-keu). Your name may look much longer in Hangul than in English. That is normal.
When does a consonant go at the bottom of the block?
This is the final consonant trick (batchim), and it makes your name look more natural.
- M, N, NG and L at the end go straight to the bottom: Sam 샘, Ben 벤, Tom 톰, Paul 폴.
- K, P, T after a short vowel also go to the bottom: Jack 잭, Nick 닉. A final T becomes ㅅ: Matt 맷, Scott 스콧.
- K, P, T after a long vowel or a glide get their own block with ㅡ: Mike 마이크, Luke 루크, Kate 케이트.
- S, F, V and CH at the end always get their own block: Chris 크리스, Steve 스티브, Mitch 미치.
Michael → 마이클 ma-i-keul
Jennifer → 제니퍼 je-ni-peo
Olivia → 올리비아 ol-li-bi-a
Chris → 크리스 keu-ri-seu
Daniel → 대니얼 dae-ni-eol
David → 데이비드 de-i-bi-deu
Jessica → 제시카 je-si-ka
Is there only one correct spelling?
Not really. The National Institute of Korean Language has official loanword rules (외래어 표기법), and newspapers follow them. But people often prefer a spelling that feels closer to how they say it. Emma is officially 에마, yet many Emmas write 엠마. Ethan is officially 이선, but you will often see 에단 too.
If a Korean friend writes your name slightly differently, they are not wrong. Pick the version you like and use it consistently, on your name tag, your KakaoTalk profile and your coffee cup.
Want to type it yourself? Use the online Korean keyboard. Type the letters in order (ㅋ, ㅡ, ㄹ, ㅣ, ㅅ, ㅡ) and the blocks build themselves.
Can I get a real Korean name instead?
Sure. Writing your English name in Hangul is called transliteration, and it is what goes on your visa paperwork and name tag. A Korean-style name like 지우 or 서연 is a different thing, with its own meanings and rules. Read how Korean given names work, then try the Korean name generator to get both your name in Hangul and a Korean name that suits you.
Sources: National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원), Rules of Loanword Orthography (외래어 표기법) and its standard spellings of English personal names.
Try it yourselfKorean Name GeneratorSee how your name is written in Hangul, or get a real Korean name with its meaning, Hanja and pronunciation.We follow the rules of the National Institute of Korean Language. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.