A foreign student asked me a question while learning Hangeul. "Teacher, why is ㅁ a square? Did they make it that way just because the shape looks pretty?" I couldn't answer right away. Since I grew up in Korea, I had just memorized it and used it. ## Watch the mouth when making the sound When I got home and looked it up, there was a reason. Hangul is a writing system created by imitating the shape of the mouth and tongue when making sounds. ㅁ is the shape of the mouth. Try saying "ma, ma, ma." Your two lips press together, don't they? That closed mouth was drawn as a square. ## ㄴ is where the tongue goes They say ㄴ imitates the shape of the tongue tip touching the upper gum when you say "na, na, na." I just thought it was a bent line. Once I knew that, the letter suddenly looked alive. ## The letter is the pronunciation guide In the next class, the foreign student brought a small mirror. Looking in the mirror and making the sounds "ma" and "na," the child said this. "Ah, when I look at a letter, I know how to say it!" That's because King Sejong based the letters on the parts of the body that make sounds. This is the reason people say Hangul is easy to learn. There's a way you can try it out right away. For sounds that confuse you, say them out loud in front of a mirror and watch your mouth and tongue. When the lips come together, it's ㅁ, and when the tip of the tongue touches the upper gum, it's ㄴ.