Hangul syllable Reum

On a Dubeolsik keyboard, enter fma in a Korean input method.

Dubeolsik is the standard Korean keyboard layout. Its f, m, and a keys produce ㄹ, ㅡ, and ㅁ; the input method joins them into 름. Hangul is the Korean writing system, and its separate letters for building syllable blocks are called jamo. A separately entered jamo sequence can also be combined into the same single block.

Fonts may arrange the same three components differently inside the square block. A changed shape can be typography rather than a different character.

What does 름 mean?

It is a Korean syllable block, not a complete word.

In words, 름 contributes a syllable while the whole Korean word supplies the meaning: 이름 means “name,” 여름 “summer,” and 구름 “cloud.” Some Chinese characters used in Korean writing can share the reading 름; the specific character and full word or name determine the meaning.

Hangul was devised in 1443 under King Sejong, and its purpose and principles were published in 1446. It offered a more direct way to write Korean than older systems that adapted Chinese characters, including 이두, 구결, and 향찰. Hangul letters group into square syllable blocks; their arrangement may resemble Chinese characters, but Hangul was not derived from them. 름 is one combination of these letters, not a separately invented sign.