How it works
This romanizer follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, the system South Korea adopted in 2000. It is what you see on road signs, subway maps and in most textbooks: 부산 is Busan, 김치 is gimchi, and 한국 is Hanguk.
Pronunciation vs. spelling mode
Korean is not always read the way it is written. When one syllable ends in a consonant and the next one starts with a certain sound, the two influence each other. The official rules romanize the pronunciation, so 한국말 becomes hangungmal, not hangukmal, and 신라 becomes Silla. Pronunciation mode applies these changes and lists every rule it used, so you can learn them as you go. Spelling mode keeps each syllable as written, which helps when you want to match letters to Hangul one by one.
The sound rules it applies
- Linking: a final consonant moves to the next syllable when that syllable starts with silent ㅇ (음악 → eumak).
- Nasalization: ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ become ㅇ, ㄴ, ㅁ before ㄴ or ㅁ (합니다 → hamnida).
- ㄹ changes: ㄴ next to ㄹ becomes ㄹ (설날 → seollal), and ㄹ after ㅁ or ㅇ becomes ㄴ (종로 → Jongno).
- Aspiration: ㅎ next to ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅈ makes them ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅊ (좋고 → joko).
- Palatalization: ㄷ or ㅌ before 이 become ㅈ or ㅊ (같이 → gachi).
Tense sounds (like the ㅆ heard in 학교) are not written in Revised Romanization, so the tool doesn't add them either.
Names are different
Korean names keep their own traditional spellings. The official romanization of 김 is Gim and of 이 is I, but almost everyone writes Kim and Lee in their passport. Name mode shows both the official form and the common spelling, and it does not apply sound changes inside the given name, as the rules require.
Want to go the other way and turn an English name into Hangul? Use the Korean name generator.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the romanizer write "gimchi" and not "kimchi"?
In Revised Romanization, ㄱ at the start of a word is written g. "Kimchi" is an older spelling that stayed in English as a loanword, just like "Seoul" kept its spelling. Both refer to the same food.
Which romanization system is this?
The Revised Romanization of Korean, the official system of South Korea since 2000. McCune-Reischauer (used in North Korea and older books) writes 부산 as Pusan; Revised Romanization writes Busan.
Why is 감사합니다 written gamsahamnida?
The ㅂ at the end of 합 is followed by ㄴ, so it is pronounced ㅁ (nasalization). Revised Romanization follows pronunciation, so it becomes hamnida.
Is the output always 100% correct?
It applies the regular sound rules, which covers the vast majority of words. A few words have irregular pronunciations (some compound nouns add an extra ㄴ sound, for example), so check important uses such as signs or legal names with a native speaker.
How do I romanize my Korean name for a passport?
Use name mode for a starting point, then follow the spelling your family already uses. Passport names in Korea can follow established family spellings such as Kim, Lee or Park instead of Gim, I or Bak.
Based on: Revised Romanization of Korean (Ministry of Culture and Tourism notice 2000-8) · National Institute of Korean Language, Standard Pronunciation rules
Last checked: 2026-10-20