Writing Hangul Clearly: Stroke Order, Proportions, and Handwriting Tips

1) Stroke-order principles that keep your Hangul readable

Clear handwriting starts with consistent stroke order. You are training your hand to make shapes the same way every time, which makes your letters easier to recognize (for you and for others).

Core principles

• Top-to-bottom: Draw upper strokes before lower strokes.
• Left-to-right: Draw left components before right components.
• Outside-to-inside (when applicable): If a shape encloses space, draw the outer frame first, then the inside stroke.
• Horizontal before vertical (common habit): When a corner is formed, many writers place the horizontal stroke first, then the vertical. The key is consistency.
• Finish with “extras”: Add short ticks, extra lines, or the final closing stroke last (useful for distinguishing similar letters).

Common stroke types you’ll reuse

Tip: If your writing looks messy, it’s often because your angles and proportions change from one repetition to the next. Stroke order helps stabilize both.

2) Step-by-step formation of each consonant and vowel (with common mistakes)

Use a “box” mindset: imagine each letter living inside a square. Keep strokes straight, corners crisp, and spacing even.

Consonants (자음) — step-by-step

ㄱ

1. Draw a short horizontal line left-to-right.
2. From the right end, draw a vertical line downward.

Common mistakes: rounding the corner too much; making the vertical too short so it resembles a dash.

ㄴ

1. Draw a vertical line downward.
2. From the bottom, draw a horizontal line to the right.

Common mistakes: starting with the bottom line (inconsistent); making it too wide so it looks like a sideways “L” that crowds the syllable block.

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ㄷ

1. Draw the top horizontal line.
2. Draw the left vertical line downward.
3. Draw the bottom horizontal line left-to-right.
4. Draw the right vertical line downward (do not close the bottom like a full box).

Common mistakes: closing it into a full rectangle (confusing with ㅁ); making the right side too short.

ㄹ

1. Draw a short top horizontal line.
2. Drop down a short vertical from the right end.
3. Draw a middle horizontal line to the left.
4. Drop down a short vertical from the left end.
5. Draw a bottom horizontal line to the right.

Common mistakes: turning it into a zigzag; making it too tall so it dominates the block.

ㅁ

1. Draw the left vertical line downward.
2. Draw the top horizontal line to the right.
3. Draw the right vertical line downward.
4. Draw the bottom horizontal line to the left to close the box.

Common mistakes (important): leaving a gap so it looks like ㄷ; making the box too narrow so it resembles ㅇ in fast writing.

ㅂ

1. Draw the outer box shape similar to ㅁ (left vertical → top → right vertical → bottom) but leave enough room inside.
2. Add the inner horizontal line across the middle (or two short inner strokes, depending on your style) to show the “double” interior.

Common mistakes (important): writing it exactly like ㅁ (missing the inner stroke); placing the inner stroke too high/low so it’s hard to see.

ㅅ

1. Draw the left diagonal stroke down toward the center.
2. Draw the right diagonal stroke down toward the center, meeting at a point (like a narrow “V”).

Common mistakes: making it too wide (looks sloppy); flattening the point so it resembles a roof rather than a sharp meeting.

ㅇ

1. Draw a clean circle/oval in one continuous motion.

Common mistakes: leaving an opening; making it too large so it crowds adjacent vowel strokes.

ㅈ

1. Write ㅅ (two diagonals meeting).
2. Add a short horizontal stroke on top (a “cap”).

Common mistakes (important): forgetting the cap (becomes ㅅ); placing the cap too far above so it looks detached.

ㅊ

1. Write ㅈ (ㅅ + top cap).
2. Add one extra short horizontal stroke above the cap (or a second cap), clearly separated but close.

Common mistakes (important): missing the extra stroke (confusing with ㅈ); stacking the two caps too far apart.

ㅋ

1. Write ㄱ.
2. Add a short horizontal stroke crossing the vertical (a “side bar”) around the middle.

Common mistakes: placing the extra stroke too low (hard to notice); making it too long so it looks like a different shape.

ㅌ

1. Write ㄷ (top, left, bottom, right).
2. Add a middle horizontal stroke inside (or across) to mark the extra line.

Common mistakes: putting the extra line too close to the top or bottom; closing the shape too boxy so it resembles ㅁ/ㅂ variants.

ㅍ

1. Draw the left vertical line.
2. Draw the top horizontal line.
3. Draw the right vertical line.
4. Draw the bottom horizontal line (forming a box-like frame).
5. Add two inner horizontal strokes (upper and lower) across the interior.

Common mistakes: drawing only one inner line (can resemble ㅂ depending on style); making inner lines too faint to see.

ㅎ

1. Draw a short horizontal line near the top.
2. Draw a second short horizontal line below it.
3. Draw a circle/oval below the lines (centered).

Common mistakes: placing the circle too high (crowds the lines); making the two lines uneven lengths/angles.

ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ (tense/double consonants)

Write the base consonant twice with consistent spacing and matching size. Keep the pair compact so it still fits inside the syllable block.

Common mistakes: making the second one smaller; spreading them too far apart so they look like two separate letters rather than one doubled consonant.

Vowels (모음) — step-by-step

For clean vowels, keep the main stem straight and place short strokes at consistent heights. Think “stem first, then branches.”

ㅣ

1. Draw one vertical line.

Common mistakes: slanting it heavily; making it too short compared to neighboring letters.

ㅏ

1. Draw the long vertical stem.
2. Add a short horizontal stroke on the right side, around the middle.

Common mistakes: placing the short stroke too high/low; making the short stroke too long so it collides with other parts in a block.

ㅓ

1. Draw the long vertical stem.
2. Add a short horizontal stroke on the left side, around the middle.

Common mistakes: accidentally putting the stroke on the right (becomes ㅏ); inconsistent midline height.

ㅑ

1. Draw the long vertical stem.
2. Add two short horizontal strokes on the right side (stacked, close together).

Common mistakes: spacing the two strokes too far apart; making one stroke much longer than the other.

ㅕ

1. Draw the long vertical stem.
2. Add two short horizontal strokes on the left side (stacked).

Common mistakes: placing one stroke on each side; uneven stroke lengths.

ㅗ

1. Draw a horizontal line left-to-right.
2. From the middle, draw a short vertical line upward.

Common mistakes: putting the vertical off-center; making the vertical too long so it looks like a “T”.

ㅜ

1. Draw a horizontal line left-to-right.
2. From the middle, draw a short vertical line downward.

Common mistakes: flipping direction (confusing with ㅗ); making the vertical too long.

ㅛ

1. Write ㅗ.
2. Add a second short vertical stroke upward next to the first (two uprights).

Common mistakes: spacing the two uprights too far apart; making one upright much taller.

ㅠ

1. Write ㅜ.
2. Add a second short vertical stroke downward next to the first.

Common mistakes: uneven lengths; placing them too close to the edge.

ㅡ

1. Draw one long horizontal line.

Common mistakes: drawing it too short (looks like a dash); slanting it so it resembles part of another letter.

ㅢ

1. Write ㅡ.
2. Add a vertical line crossing it (often slightly right of center in handwriting, but keep it consistent).

Common mistakes: placing the vertical too far to one side; making the crossing messy so it looks like a scribble.

ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅒ, ㅖ (vowels with an extra line)

These are formed by adding an extra short vertical line to the right of the main vowel shape (handwriting styles vary). The key for legibility is to keep the extra line parallel to the main stem and close enough that it reads as one vowel.

Common mistakes: placing the extra line too far away (looks like ㅏ + ㅣ separated); making it too short to notice.

3) Spacing and line alignment: practicing inside a box

To keep syllable blocks readable, practice on grid paper or draw light boxes. Each syllable block should fit inside one square, with even margins.

Baseline and midline habits

• Keep vertical stems straight: ㅣ, ㅏ/ㅓ series should be near-vertical, not leaning.
• Keep horizontal vowels level: ㅡ, ㅗ/ㅜ series should be parallel to your notebook lines.
• Centering matters: For ㅗ/ㅜ, the short vertical should come from the center of the horizontal line, not the edge.

Tall vs. short components inside the box

• Tall components: vertical stems (like ㅣ, ㅏ, ㅓ) should use most of the box height but leave a small top/bottom margin.
• Short components: caps and extra ticks (ㅈ/ㅊ caps, ㅎ top lines) should be small and stay in the upper portion without floating away.
• Box consonants: ㅁ/ㅂ should be close to square (not a skinny rectangle). Aim for balanced width and height.
• Circles: ㅇ should be centered and not touch the box edges.

Notebook practice setup

• Draw a row of light squares (or use graph paper).
• Write one jamo per square first (focus on shape).
• Then write syllable blocks per square (focus on fit and spacing).
• Leave one empty square between practice groups to visually reset your spacing.

4) Timed handwriting drills (copy → memory → compare)

Use a timer to build automatic, consistent forms. Speed is not the goal; consistency is. Do these drills with a pencil or pen you can control easily.

Drill A: 60 seconds copy (1–2 lines)

Copy the line exactly, one character per beat, keeping size consistent.

ㅣ ㅡ ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ ㅐ ㅔ ㅢ

ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ

Drill B: 45 seconds from memory

Cover your model line. Rewrite the same sequence from memory, aiming for the same proportions and stroke placement.

Drill C: 30 seconds compare and mark

• Circle letters that look different from your model.
• Put a small checkmark next to letters that are consistently clear.
• Pick two letters to fix in the next round (not ten).

Drill D: Similar-shape contrast (90 seconds)

Alternate commonly confused pairs to force clear differences.

ㅁ ㅂ ㅁ ㅂ ㅁ ㅂ ㅁ ㅂ

ㅈ ㅊ ㅈ ㅊ ㅈ ㅊ ㅈ ㅊ

ㅏ ㅓ ㅏ ㅓ ㅏ ㅓ ㅏ ㅓ

Rule: exaggerate the distinguishing feature slightly (inner stroke for ㅂ, extra cap for ㅊ, left vs right branch for ㅓ/ㅏ), but keep everything inside the same size box.

5) Legibility checklist (use after every practice page)

• Distinguishability: Can you instantly tell ㅁ vs ㅂ, ㅈ vs ㅊ, ㅏ vs ㅓ without guessing?
• Consistent angles: Are your ㅅ/ㅈ/ㅊ diagonals similar in slant and meeting point?
• Closed vs open shapes: Are ㅁ and ㅇ fully closed, while ㄷ remains clearly not a full box?
• Proportions: Are boxy letters (ㅁ/ㅂ) roughly square, not skinny or stretched?
• Centered strokes: For ㅗ/ㅜ/ㅛ/ㅠ, are the vertical ticks centered on the horizontal line?
• Branch placement: For ㅏ/ㅓ/ㅑ/ㅕ, are the short strokes placed around the middle and clearly on the correct side?
• Even pressure and line weight: Are your extra strokes (like ㅂ inner line, ㅊ extra cap, ㅎ top lines) dark enough to see?
• Block fit: When you later combine letters into syllable blocks, do parts stay inside an imaginary square without drifting or colliding?