Hangul syllable weon

The whole Korean word decides. 원 is a Hangul syllable used in many different Korean words. After a number, as in 천 원, it names Korean currency; in 공원 (“park”), it belongs to another root. Read the full word before choosing a translation.

Hangul was created to make Korean easier to write than with Chinese characters. A record of the new script dates to 1443; an explanatory book, Hunminjeongeum, appeared in 1446. Those dates mark the history of Hangul, not the first use of this individual syllable.

Why does 원 mean different things?

Several Korean roots share this spelling and pronunciation. Hanja—Chinese characters used in Korean—distinguish them: 園 is the root in 공원 (“park”), 原 appears in 원형 (“original form”), and the suffix -원 marks a person in a role, as in 공무원 (“public official”). These are separate word elements, not alternate meanings of one symbol.

The currency name 원 is linked to 圓, “circle,” as are the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen names, in reference to round coins. Korean currency notation changed from 圜 to 圓 in 1910. South Korea replaced the won with the hwan in 1953 and returned to the won in 1962. This history applies to the money use only.

How do I type 원?

Use Korean input in 2-Set mode. With Korean input active, type dnjs: d enters ㅇ, n then j form ㅝ, and s adds final ㄴ. The input method joins them into 원; with English input active, those keys make Latin letters.

Unicode 17.0.0 defines the precomposed block and a decomposed sequence of jamo as equivalent Hangul. The separate jamo may appear as individual letters if an app or font does not shape the sequence as a syllable.