Hangul Syllable Cyeoj

Type ㅊ, then ㅕ, then ㅈ in a Korean input method.

Those input letters build an initial consonant, a vowel, and a final consonant into one square syllable block. The separate Korean letters used to build syllables are called jamo.

Unicode also represents the same syllable in a letter-by-letter form: ᄎ + ᅧ + ᆽ. A font or app that does not shape those jamo together may display them separately.

What does 쳦 mean by itself?

It has no fixed meaning by itself. It is one Hangul syllable block; in Korean writing, a surrounding word or sentence supplies the meaning.

Hangul was created during King Sejong's reign. The first record of its new 28-letter alphabet appears in late 1443. The explanatory Hunminjeongeum Haerye, a guide to the letters, was completed in 1446. It offered a way to write Korean without first learning Classical Chinese, the formal written language used by the educated elite.

Hangul spread through Buddhist translations, women's letters, popular novels, and public documents. In 1894, it became official for public documents. After Japan annexed Korea in 1910, Hangul lost official status; colonial restrictions intensified later, and Korean-language classes ended in schools in 1938. Scholars continued researching and teaching Hangul. Phags-pa, a script used by the Mongol Yuan dynasty, was promulgated in 1269 and is a proposed influence on Hangul, though scholars debate the link. The Hunminjeongeum Haerye explains Hangul's letter shapes through speech articulation and philosophical principles.