Your name in Korean

Type any name. You get the Hangul, the spelling Koreans normally use for it, and a button to hear it read out.

Why your name splits up like that

Korean is written in syllable blocks, and every block needs a vowel. English piles consonants together in ways Korean cannot, so a vowel gets slipped in — that is why Smith becomes 스미스, three blocks for one syllable.

There is also no single official spelling for most names. 데이비드 and 다비드 are both David: the first follows the English pronunciation, the second the spelling. This tool uses the version Koreans actually write for common names, and works the rest out from the sounds.

Sounds Korean cannot copy

• F and V both become ㅍ or ㅂ

  Korean has neither sound. Steven and Stephen come out identical.
• L and R are one letter

  ㄹ covers both, so the difference simply disappears.
• Z becomes ㅈ

  Zara is 자라 — the same way a Korean would write Jara.

How the converter decides

The converter does two things. First it checks a short list of names that Koreans already write in a fixed way, such as Michael and David. If your name is not on that list, it breaks the name into sounds and builds the syllable blocks from those sounds. The result is a good guess at what a Korean would write. It is not an official record. If your name is printed in a fixed form on a passport, a visa or a company badge, use that form.

Why English names get extra vowels

Every Korean syllable block needs a vowel. English lets consonants pile up, and Korean cannot hold that many in a row, so a vowel is slipped in. Smith becomes 스미스: the consonant cluster is split by a vowel, and the final consonant gets a block of its own. Mark becomes 마크, with the final k given a vowel so it can stand alone. A name that starts with two consonants, such as Brent, gets a vowel after the first one: 브렌트. The vowel is not a mistake. It is how Korean makes the sound at all.

How foreign sounds are written

Korea has an official guide for foreign words, the 외래어 표기법. Most names follow its basic lines, and the rest follow common usage. A few of the main lines:

• F and V

  Korean has no true F or V. F is written ㅍ, and V is usually written ㅂ. Steven and Stephen come out the same.
• L and R

  One letter, ㄹ, covers both. The difference between Larry and Harry is kept only by the first letter.
• Z

  Z is written ㅈ, so Zara is 자라, the same way a Korean would write Jara.
• Final consonants

  Korean closes a syllable with only a few final sounds. Most other English final consonants get their own vowel, so Mark becomes 마크, not 막.

Common names and their usual forms

These are the spellings you will see most often in Korea. They are common usage, not a rulebook, and a Korean may spell the same name slightly differently.

Choosing between two spellings

Many names have two common forms. One follows how the name is said in English. The other follows how it is spelled. David is 데이비드 in most places and 다비드 in some, and both are understood. The converter picks the form that is seen most often for a name. If you prefer the other one, you can write it that way on a form and it will be understood.

Family names and the order of a name

Korean puts the family name first. 김민수 is Kim Min-su, where 김 is the family name and 민수 is the given name. Most Korean family names are one syllable, and most given names are two. Foreign names keep the order of the original language. Michael Jordan is 마이클 조던, with a space between the two names and the given name first. When a Korean writes a Korean name, the family name and the given name are usually written together with no space: 김민수, not 김 민수.

What the tool cannot know

It cannot know how you say your name. Two people with the same spelling can say it differently, and the sound you intend may not match the sound the converter chose. If it matters, say your name out loud and pick the version that sounds right to you. The audio button reads the Korean back so you can check.

It also cannot know whether a name has an ordinary meaning in Korean. Some English words that sound like a Korean word will look odd when written in Hangul. This is normal, and the result is still the closest sound.