엘
el[e̞ɭ]
The twelfth letter of the English alphabet, l, is written as 엘 in Korean.
This term is used to refer to the English letter l.
How do you pronounce it?
el
Did you know?
- While 엘 refers to the letter 'L', the native Korean consonant ㄹ can sound like 'L' or 'R' depending on its position, often creating a 'flapped' sound similar to the 'tt' in the English word 'better'.
- To distinguish between 'L' and 'R' in transcriptions, Koreans sometimes double the consonant ㄹㄹ to emphasize the 'L' sound, though the name of the letter remains 엘.
- The word 엘 is borrowed from the English 'el', which originally comes from the old English measure of length known as an 'ell'.
Examples in context
- 라면Instant noodles
- 라디오Radio
- 과일Fruit
- 발전Development
- 열심Diligence
- 설날Lunar New Year
- 칠리소스Chili sauce
- 알바Part-time job
- 엘은 영어 알파벳의 열두 번째 글자예요.el-eun yeongeo alpabet-ui yeoldu beonjjae geuljayeyo.L is the twelfth letter of the English alphabet.
- 이름에 엘이 들어가는지 확인해 보세요.ireume el-i deureoganeunji hwaginhae boseyo.Please check if there is an L in the name.
- 대문자 엘을 써 주세요.daemunja el-eul sseojuseyo.Please write the uppercase L.
Example conversation
Ji-eun is helping Hyeon-u spell out a code.
- 지은 Ji-eun현우 씨, 영어 알파벳 '엘'을 말해 보세요.Hyeon-u ssi, yeongeo alpabet 'el'eul malhae boseyo.Hyeon-u, please say the English letter 'L'.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo엘 맞아요?El majayo?Is it L?
- 지은 Ji-eun네, 엘이 맞아요.Ne, el-i majayo.Yes, it is L.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo알겠습니다, 지은 씨.Algetseumnida, Ji-eun ssi.I understand, Ji-eun.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 엘, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 엘, CC BY-SA 4.0.
