Korean syllable 좌

The word decides: 좌 usually means “left,” but it can also mean a seat. In 좌측 and 좌우, it comes from 左 (“left”); 좌파 and 좌익 use that root politically. In 좌석, it comes from 座 (“seat” or “place to sit”). Hanja are Chinese characters also used in Korean.

Hangul was devised in 1443 as a practical writing system for Korean. The 1446 Hunminjeongeum book explained its sounds and syllable rules. After 1446, Hangul appeared in Buddhist translations, primers, practical books on medicine and farming, and literature.

How do I type 좌?

Use a Korean input method (IME). Enter ㅈ, then ㅗ, then ㅏ; the IME combines the vowels into ㅘ. On the common two-set keyboard, those keys are W, H and K—key positions, not a Latin spelling.

A Korean on-screen keyboard takes the same taps. If the pieces show before the block forms, continue the sequence.

Is 좌 one letter or a syllable?

좌 is one precomposed Hangul syllable block. Hangul blocks group jamo, the letters used to build syllables; 좌 has initial ᄌ and vowel ᅪ, with no final consonant.

Unicode can also store it as 좌. Text normalization can combine that sequence into 좌, while font support can affect its display.