Hangul syllable 옸

It is a Hangul syllable, so context gives it meaning.

옸 combines three jamo—the building letters of Hangul syllables: ㅇ at the start, ㅗ as the vowel, and ㅆ at the end. Read it within the Korean word or sentence around it; the block alone does not identify a complete word.

Fonts can shape the same block differently, but its role stays the same.

Why is 옸 built as a block?

It follows Hangul's system for building syllables from letters.

옸 is not a separate ancient sign. It is one possible combination in Hangul, the Korean script. Hangul was created in 1443; Hunminjeongeum, a guide explaining the script's design and purpose, was published in 1446. Hangul offered a more direct way to write Korean than earlier systems that adapted Chinese characters, which were difficult for many people and did not fit Korean well.

Before Hangul, Korean writing used practices such as Idu, gugyeol, and hyangchal, which adapted Chinese characters to write Korean words and grammar. During the Joseon dynasty in Korea, Hangul spread through letters, petitions, household records, literature, performances, and public writing.

How do I type 옸?

Enter ㅇ, ㅗ, then ㅆ in a Korean Hangul input method.

An IME (input method editor) joins the jamo as you type. If a system leaves them separate, Unicode NFC normalization—a standard way to compose text—can combine the modern jamo sequence ㅇㅗㅆ into 옸.