Hangul syllable hoc

“Hoc” labels the parts of a syllable; it does not translate a word.

Hangul jamo are the letters used to build syllables. Here the initial consonant is ㅎ, the vowel is ㅗ, and the final-form jamo is ᆾ, corresponding to ㅊ. Together they form one Hangul block; a Korean word's meaning comes from its surrounding spelling.

Fonts place the components in a square syllable cell. Different typefaces may shift the internal spacing, but that drawing difference does not change the character.

How was Hangul created?

Hangul was designed as an alphabet for writing Korean speech.

The first recorded notice of Hangul is dated 1443. The explanatory book Hunminjeongeum was published in 1446; it described the letters, their sound principles, and the initial–medial–final pattern used to assemble syllables.

That history explains this Hangul block: it is assembled from reusable letters, not drawn to represent an object.

Why are Hangul letters arranged in blocks?

A square block groups the letters that make one written syllable.

Before Hangul, hanja—Chinese characters used in Korean writing—were adapted to write Korean, but did not fit its sounds and grammar well. Hangul uses square syllable cells too, while its alphabetic letter shapes were not copied from hanja.

In South Korea, the script is usually called Hangul, and some writing still includes hanja. In North Korea, it is commonly called Chosŏn'gŭl. These are regional names and writing practices for the same script.