Free online translator for converting English names to Korean (한국어)
Korean uses Hangul (한글), a logical alphabet system invented in 1443. Each character represents a syllable block combining consonants and vowels in a unique, scientific writing system.
Hangul was created in 1443 under King Sejong the Great and is one of the very few writing systems with a documented inventor, date and design rationale. The founding document, the Hunminjeongeum, explains that the consonant shapes depict the position of the tongue, teeth and lips when producing each sound: ㄱ shows the back of the tongue raised, ㄴ the tongue tip at the ridge behind the teeth, ㅁ the shape of the mouth. It was designed explicitly so that ordinary people could become literate quickly.
The letters are not written in a line but grouped into square syllable blocks. Each block has an initial consonant, a medial vowel, and optionally a final consonant, arranged within the square. So 한 is ㅎ plus ㅏ plus ㄴ composed into one unit. This gives Korean text a modular appearance and means a name occupies as many blocks as it has syllables.
Korean distinguishes plain, aspirated and tense consonants as three separate phonemes: ㄱ, ㅋ and ㄲ are different sounds, not variations in emphasis. English has nothing equivalent, and this three-way contrast is the main thing an English speaker has to decide about when a name is transliterated, because English consonants sit between the Korean categories.
Korean Hangul represents foreign names by breaking them into syllables and finding the closest Korean phonetic match. Some English sounds are approximated since Korean has a different sound system.
Korean permits some final consonants, so it reshapes foreign names less drastically than Japanese, but it still cannot handle most clusters. A cluster is broken by inserting the neutral vowel ㅡ, so a name like Fred picks up an extra syllable. Final consonants that Korean does allow are also neutralised — several distinct sounds collapse to the same pronunciation in final position.
The English f has no Korean equivalent and is written ㅍ, the aspirated p, so Frank becomes 프랭크. There is no v, written ㅂ, and no distinction between l and r, both written ㄹ. English z becomes ㅈ. Korean also has no th. Despite these gaps, hangul is generally regarded as one of the better scripts for approximating foreign names, because its vowel inventory is large and its structure is regular.
Here are examples of common English names transliterated to Korean:
Explore your name in other writing systems:
Use our Hangul translator tool above. Type your English name and it will convert to Korean Hangul using standard phonetic rules. The transliteration follows official Korean government guidelines for foreign names.
Hangul combines letters into syllable blocks. Each 'block' you see is one syllable. For example, 'Kim' is written as 김 (one block) combining ㄱ(k) + ㅣ(i) + ㅁ(m).
Yes, some names have multiple valid Hangul spellings. Our tool provides the most common standard version, but variations exist. For official documents, check the National Institute of Korean Language guidelines.
Yes, foreign names on Korean documents are written in Hangul following standardized transliteration. Our tool uses these same official rules, so the result matches what you'd see on official paperwork.
Korean has fewer sounds than English. Some English sounds like 'f', 'v', 'th' don't exist in Korean and are substituted with the closest Korean sound. This is normal and Koreans will still recognize your name.
Hangul groups letters into syllable blocks rather than writing them in a line. Each block contains an initial consonant, a vowel and optionally a final consonant, so a name uses one block per syllable.
Korean has no f. It is written ㅍ, the aspirated p, so Frank becomes 프랭크.
King Sejong the Great, in 1443. The founding document explains that consonant shapes depict the position of the tongue, teeth and lips, designed so ordinary people could learn to read quickly.