에이
ei[e̞i]
To say the letter A in Korean, use the English letter name written in Hangul, 에이 (ei).
Koreans read Latin letters with their English names. 에이 is what you hear for an A grade, blood type A or a paper size or seat labeled A.
How do you pronounce it?
에이 is pronounced [e̞i], very close to the English name of the letter.
What mistakes should you avoid?
The Korean alphabet has its own vowel letter for the a sound, but that is a different thing. When you mean the English letter A, say 에이.
Did you know?
- When someone says 에이! with a sharp falling intonation, they aren't naming a letter but are telling you 'No way!' or 'Stop joking!'
- To write the sound of the single English letter 'A', Korean must use two distinct syllable blocks, 에 and 이, because Korean cannot write a lone vowel without a consonant placeholder.
- In Korean gaming and online culture, 에이 is often used as shorthand for 'Ace', referring to the best player on a team.
Examples in context
- 에이 자를 써 주세요.e-i ja-reul sseo ju-se-yo.Please write the letter A.
- 이건 에이예요.i-geon e-i-ye-yo.This is A.
Example conversation
Minjun and Seoyeon are checking the spelling of a name.
- 민준 Min-jun스펠링이 어떻게 돼요?seu-pel-ling-i eo-tteoh-ge dwae-yo?How do you spell it?
- 서연 Seo-yeon에이, 비, 씨예요.e-i, bi, ssi-ye-yo.It is A, B, C.
- 민준 Min-jun에이로 시작하는군요.e-i-ro si-jak-ha-neun-gun-yo.So it starts with A.
- 서연 Seo-yeon맞아요, 민준 씨.ma-ja-yo, Min-jun ssi.That's right, Minjun.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 에이, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
