Hangul · consonant · 5 of 40
ㅁ 미음
- Name
- 미음 mieum
- Sound
- m, as in 마
- How it sounds
- A plain English m everywhere, including at the end of a block.
- Memory hook
- The square is the mouth itself with the lips shut, which is how every m begins. Close your lips and you have made the shape.
- Watch for
- Misreading ㅁ as ㅇ in small or handwritten text; ㅁ has corners and ㅇ is a circle.
Words that use ㅁ
Romanisation help
엄마
eomma
mum
머리
meori
head
이름
ireum
name
How to write ㅁ
Stroke order · 3 strokes
1
2
3
- 1. Down the left side, from top to bottom.
- 2. Across the top from the left, then turn and go down the right side.
- 3. Across the bottom, from left to right, to close the box.
General rules
- Top to bottom, left to right.
- Horizontal strokes are written left to right, vertical ones top to bottom.
- Many corners are turned without lifting the pen, so ㄱ and ㄴ are each a single stroke.
- ㅇ is drawn anticlockwise, starting from the top.
- Vowels follow the same order: ㅏ and ㅜ start with the long line, while ㅓ and ㅗ start with the short stroke.
- In a block, write the consonant first, then the vowel, then any final consonant.
Practise it with a tracing guide and a from-memory pass on the writing practice page.
ㅁ is taught on day 2 of the Hangul course, alongside ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ, with a memory hook, words to read and two writing passes.