How to write my name in Korean
How it works
The rules, our own choices, and the sources
From your name to Hangul
- We find how the name sounds: English names in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (American English), Japanese names from the kana you type, eight European languages with hangulize.
- Each sound goes through 외래어 표기법 표 1 (or 표 4 for kana) and that language's rules (세칙).
- The sounds become syllable blocks. The WHY line quotes the first official rule that changed the spelling.
These are spellings by rule, so they may differ from 국립국어원's 용례 (its list of decided spellings). To see a decided one, use 국립국어원's 용례 search.
| English | CMU Pronouncing Dictionary → 표 1 + 영어 표기 세칙 제1–10항 |
|---|---|
| 日本語 (kana) | 표 4 + 일본어 표기 제1–2항 |
| DE · ES · IT · PT · NL · PL · SV · RU | hangulize (draft rules by its authors), in your browser |
| Français | no engine yet: we say so instead of guessing |
How we read English names
The dictionary is American English and the rules are written for British-style IPA, so a few choices are ours, not 국립국어원's. They are never quoted as a rule:
| PBJ-AA | US ‘ah’ (AA) becomes 오 when it's spelt with o, else 아 | Thomas 토머스 · Scott 스콧 |
|---|---|---|
| PBJ-ARR | ‘arr’ before an r sound becomes 애 | Harry 해리 |
| PBJ-ER | the ‘er’ sound counts as long [əː] | Robert 로버트 |
| PBJ-R | r is written only before a vowel; after i, e, u it leaves a soft 어 | year 이어 · Claire 클레어 |
| PBJ-L | a final -le or -el after p b t d k g s z f v is a syllabic l | Michael 마이클 |
| PBJ-I | a weak vowel spelt i is [ɪ] | olive 올리브 · Emily 에밀리 |
| PBJ-A | a weak final [ə] spelt -a/-ah is written 아, as established Korean spellings of names are (Emma 에마, Anna 애나); the strict 어 stays as another spelling | Emma 에마 · Sophia 소피아 |
| PBJ-SON | a final -son is 슨 (Jackson 잭슨), as Korean press writes it; 선 stays as another spelling | Madison 매디슨 |
| PBJ-UEL | a final -uel keeps the weak vowel the dictionary drops: 유얼 | Samuel 새뮤얼 |
| PBJ-GA | Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh names come from our own table, transcribed by hand from the IPA of a cited source, not from the American dictionary | Siobhan 시본 · Niamh 니브 |
| PBJ-JL | an ambiguous kana long vowel: offered as an alternate | イノウエ 이노우에 / 이노에 |
We ran every example word of the official English rules that is in the dictionary through the engine: it matches 85 of 98.
The ones that differ are American vowels and compound words (CMU doesn't mark where a compound splits):
| Word | Official | Ours |
|---|---|---|
| mattress | 매트리스 | 매트러스 |
| sickness | 시크니스 | 시크너스 |
| mask | 마스크 | 매스크 |
| mirage | 미라지 | 머라지 |
| Hamlet | 햄릿 | 햄럿 |
| want | 원트 | 완트 |
| penguin | 펭귄 | 펭권 |
| whistle | 휘슬 | 위슬 |
| bookend | 북엔드 | 부켄드 |
| headlight | 헤드라이트 | 헤들라이트 |
| bookmaker | 북메이커 | 부크메이커 |
| flashgun | 플래시건 | 플래슈건 |
| topknot | 톱놋 | 토프놋 |
Why some names have two answers
The dictionary sometimes lists two pronunciations, and some names have a spelling Korean press uses that differs from the rule (Elizabeth: 일리저버스 by rule, 엘리자베스 in the press). We show those under “Other spellings”. Tap the one you want; every output updates.
Why we refuse to guess
If a name isn't in the dictionary, any spelling we made up would look just as official as a real one. So we say so, and point you to 국립국어원's 용례 search instead.
This is not a Korean name
A Korean name (이름) is chosen, often from Hanja meanings. This is how Korea writes your own name, sound by sound.
Not affiliated with 국립국어원
Not affiliated with 국립국어원 (the National Institute of Korean Language). Spellings follow its published rules as applied by this tool; for official documents, check 국립국어원's 용례 search.
Sources
| What | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| 외래어 표기법 (문화체육관광부 고시 제2017-14호): 제1장, 표 1, 표 4, 제3장 제1절 영어, 제6절 일본어 | korean.go.kr · 외래어 표기법 | 2026-11-10 |
| 국어의 로마자 표기법: 제2장 제1·2항, 붙임 1·2 | korean.go.kr · 로마자 표기법 | 2026-11-10 |
| CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (135,166 entries, BSD-style licence) | cmusphinx/cmudict @ 7479086 | 2026-11-10 |
| hangulize (MIT, Heungsub Lee · Brian Jongseong Park; all specs stage “draft”), WebAssembly built with go1.27.3 | hangulize/hangulize @ b951421 | 2026-11-10 |
| Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh names: English/native IPA from each name's Wikipedia article (URL per name in the code), transcribed by 표 1 | en.wikipedia.org · e.g. Siobhán | 2026-11-10 |
| 국립국어원 외래어 표기 용례: linked only, never copied (공공누리 제2유형, no commercial use) | korean.go.kr · 용례 찾기 | 2026-11-10 |
Fonts and licences
- Nanum Brush Script 붓글씨: © 2010 NHN Corporation, design Sandoll. SIL Open Font License 1.1 (OFL.txt)
- Nanum Pen Script 손글씨: © 2010 NHN Corporation, design Sandoll. SIL Open Font License 1.1 (OFL.txt)
- Gowun Batang 명조: © 2021 The Gowun Batang Project Authors, design Yanghee Ryu. SIL Open Font License 1.1 (OFL.txt)
- Black Han Sans 굵은 고딕: © 2015 The Black Han Sans Project Authors, Zess Type. SIL Open Font License 1.1 (OFL.txt)
- Gowun Dodum 돋움: © 2021 The Gowun Dodum Project Authors, design Yanghee Ryu. SIL Open Font License 1.1 (OFL.txt)
- Song Myung 도장 · seal: © 2018 The Song Myung Project Authors, JIKJI. SIL Open Font License 1.1 (OFL.txt)
- Pretendard UI: orioncactus. SIL Open Font License 1.1 (OFL.txt)
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary: Copyright (C) 1993-2015 Carnegie Mellon University (licence)
- hangulize: MIT, Copyright (c) 2018-2023 Heungsub Lee (licence)
FAQ
Why is Emma 에마 and not 엠마?
Hangul writes sounds, not letters: Emma has one m sound, so it's written once (외래어 표기법 제1장 제2항), and an m before a vowel starts the next syllable (영어 표기 세칙 제5항). The final vowel is spelt a, so it's written 아, the way established Korean spellings of names end (Anna 애나, Sophia 소피아). The strict table form 에머 is shown as another spelling.
Why does my name have two answers?
Either the dictionary lists two ways to say it, or the rule result differs from a common spelling. Tap the one you say; every output updates.
Why can't you spell my name?
It isn't in the pronunciation dictionary, or it uses kana or a language we have no rules for yet. We'd rather tell you than invent a spelling.
Is this my “Korean name”?
No. A Korean name is a different thing. This is how Korea writes your name.
Why is the seal not red?
A design choice: we chose ink navy (or pine green). The seal is decorative, not a legal seal.
Which rules do you use?
외래어 표기법 (문화체육관광부 고시 제2017-14호) and 국어의 로마자 표기법, the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary for English, and hangulize for eight European languages. Links are under Sources.
Rules checked · korean.go.kr · CMU (135,166) · hangulize