4BLOCKS ㄴ at a glance
| Letter | ㄴ |
|---|---|
| Sound | n, as in 느 (neu) |
| Name | 니은 (nieun) |
| Romanization | n (나 = na, 안 = an) |
| Type | one of the 5 basic Korean consonants: ㄱ ㄴ ㅁ ㅅ ㅇ |
How to pronounce ㄴ, step by step
- Open your mouth a little. Relax your lips.
- Lift the tip of your tongue. Touch the small bump just behind your top front teeth. This bump is called the gum ridge.
- Hum through your nose and say 느 (neu). The air goes out through your nose, then your tongue drops for the vowel.
Good news: the Korean ㄴ is almost the same as the English n in “no” or “nice”. If you can say “no”, you can already say ㄴ. Try it with your fingers on your nose: you should feel a little buzz. That buzz is the sign of an n sound. The only thing to learn is the shape, so you can read it.
Why ㄴ looks like that: a picture of your tongue tip
King Sejong designed Hangul in the 15th century so that the basic consonants are pictures of your mouth. The 1446 book Hunminjeongeum says ㄴ shows the tongue touching the gums behind the upper teeth.
Look at the side view: the tip of your tongue stands up at the front, and the rest of your tongue lies flat. Up, then flat: that is the yellow ㄴ shape.
ㄴ is NOT an L
English speakers often read ㄴ as the letter L because the shapes match. But ㄴ always sounds like n. Korean has a different letter, ㄹ, for l and r sounds. A fun way to remember: “It looks like L, but it says No!”
Easy Korean words that start with ㄴ
Say the first sound 느 slowly, then the whole word.
누나 is what a boy calls his older sister, and it is also used for older women who are close friends. Girls say 언니 (eonni) instead. You will hear both all the time in K-dramas.
ㄴ in Korean words you already know
ㄴ is one of the most common letters in Korean. You can find it in these famous words:
| Korean | Sound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 안녕하세요 | annyeonghaseyo | hello (polite) |
| 노래방 | noraebang | karaoke room (literally “song room”) |
| 언니 | eonni | big sister (said by girls) |
| 눈 | nun | eye, and also snow |
안녕하세요 has two ㄴ letters: one at the bottom of 안 and one at the start of 녕. When ㄴ is at the bottom of a syllable, keep your tongue tip up on the gum ridge and hum: 안 sounds like “an”. Now you know why 노래방 starts with the same 노 as 노래: a karaoke room is a “song room”.
The ㄴ chant
Clap and chant along with the teacher in the video. Repeat it three times and the sound will stick.
느 느 나무! (tree)
느 느 노래! (song)
느 느 누나! (big sister)
나비가 나무에 앉아요! (The butterfly sits on the tree!)
A Korean sentence with ㄴ
나비가나무에앉아요
나비가 나무에 앉아요 means “The butterfly sits on the tree.” Can you find three ㄴ letters? Two are easy: 나 and 나. The third is hiding at the bottom of 앉, together with ㅈ. In 앉아요, the ㅈ slides over to the next syllable, so it sounds like “an-ja-yo”.
The colors preview the 4BLOCKS method: blue is who, yellow is where, and red is the action, which always comes last in a Korean sentence. In lesson 1 you met 고양이가 고기를 먹어요 (The cat eats meat). Same idea, new blocks.
Quick quiz
Common mistakes with ㄴ
- Reading it as L. The shape fools many beginners. ㄴ is always n.
- Mixing up ㄱ and ㄴ. They are mirror pictures of the tongue: ㄱ is the back of the tongue going up (그), ㄴ is the tip going up (느). Corner at the top right = ㄱ, corner at the bottom left = ㄴ.
- Saying the name instead of the sound. 나 is 느 + 아 = “na”, not “nieun-a”.
Free printable ㄴ worksheet
Two pages: trace and write ㄴ, find every ㄴ (watch out for the English L!), read the four words, ㄱ or ㄴ practice, the chant lyrics and a mini quiz with answers. Great for self-study and for teachers.
FAQ: the Korean letter ㄴ
How do you pronounce ㄴ in Korean?
Like the English n. Say 느 (neu): the tip of your tongue touches the bump behind your top teeth and the sound goes through your nose.
Is ㄴ the same as the English letter L?
No. It only looks like an L. ㄴ sounds like n. The Korean letter for l and r is ㄹ.
What is the name of ㄴ?
니은 (nieun). You do not need the name to read, so start with the sound 느.
Why does ㄴ look like that?
It pictures the tongue tip touching the gums behind the upper teeth, as explained in the 1446 Hunminjeongeum.
What is the difference between ㄴ, ㄷ and ㅌ?
They all use the tongue tip in the same place. ㄴ is n. Add one stroke for ㄷ (a stopped d/t), and another for ㅌ (t with a puff of air). We cover them in later lessons.