Tools
Build the Word: Real Korean Signs & Menus
Every word in this game comes from a photo we took in Seoul: shop signs in Jongno, a pub’s menu boards, a bus arrival screen, a café kiosk. You get the meaning and the romanization; spell the word in Hangul by choosing each syllable’s first consonant, vowel and final consonant.
Pick a level to start. You’ll get an English meaning, its romanization and a photo from Seoul; spell the Korean word one syllable at a time.
What This Game Is
A spelling game with 42 words taken from photos on this site. Most are printed on a sign, menu or screen in the photo; a few, like 김치 and 거북선, are shown as the thing itself. Spell a word correctly and the full photo appears with a caption and a link to the article it comes from.
Why Practice With Real Signs?
Sign words are chosen to be read at a glance, which makes them a practical reading list for a trip: 곧도착 on a bus arrival board, 매장 and 포장 on a café kiosk, 임대 on an empty office. Many are loanwords written in Hangul, like 치킨 and 와이파이, that you can recognize once you sound them out. See reading Korean street signs and how to ride a bus in Seoul for more.
How Building a Syllable Works
Each Korean syllable is a block with a first consonant, a vowel and sometimes a final consonant (batchim). You fill those three slots for every syllable: 치과 is ㅊ + ㅣ, then ㄱ + ㅘ, with no final consonant. Each slot offers the right letter and four other choices, often look-alikes such as ㅓ and ㅗ. New to blocks? Start with the Hangul Syllable Builder or Hangul Typing Practice.
Tips for Each Level
- Level 1 — no final consonants. A syllable that starts with a vowel sound uses the silent ㅇ: 새우 is ㅅ + ㅐ, then ㅇ + ㅜ.
- Level 2 — the end of a romanized syllable points to the batchim: k → ㄱ, n → ㄴ, l → ㄹ, m → ㅁ, p → ㅂ, ng → ㅇ. A final t has several spellings (ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ), so check the options.
- Level 3 — wa is ㅘ, wo is ㅝ, oe is ㅚ, ui is ㅢ, and a doubled letter such as the ss in bossam means a tense consonant (ㅆ). Romanization skips some sound changes: 치과 is said [치꽈] but written chigwa.
Where the Photos Come From
We took these photos in central Seoul and blurred faces, license plates and phone numbers. They appear in our guides to Gwanghwamun Square, a walk through Jongno, Seoul City Hall to Namdaemun Market and Myeongdong, and on the anju page, whose menu boards supplied the pub food words. Scores stay in your own browser, with no login. The Listen button uses your device’s built-in voice, so it may not work everywhere.