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How to write Squid Game (오징어게임) in Korean

A drama title in five blocks: a native Korean word (오징어, squid) plus a loanword (게임, game). Three of the blocks start with a silent ㅇ.

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오징어게임

Squid Game · official romanization Ojingeo Geim

Drama titleWord

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The letters of each block, then the block they build. Tap a play button to hear it.

Red first consonantBlue vowelBlack final consonant (batchim)

Block 1: 오 [o]

2 letters

  1. First consonant

    이응 ieung

    [silent]

    silent at the start: it only holds the place

  2. Vowel

    [o]

    o as in “go”, without the w glide

Built block · vowel underneath

ㅇ + ㅗ =

오

[o]

Block 2: 징 [jing]

3 letters

  1. First consonant

    지읒 jieut

    [j]

    soft j, no puff of air

  2. Vowel

    [i]

    i as in “see”

  3. Final (batchim)

    이응 ieung

    [ng]

    ng as in “sing”

Built block · vowel on the right, final at the bottom

ㅈ + ㅣ + ㅇ =

징

[jing]

Block 3: 어 [eo]

2 letters

  1. First consonant

    이응 ieung

    [silent]

    silent at the start: it only holds the place

  2. Vowel

    [eo]

    an open “uh” as in “cup”

Built block · vowel on the right

ㅇ + ㅓ =

어

[eo]

Block 4: 게 [ge]

2 letters

  1. First consonant

    기역 giyeok

    [g]

    soft g

  2. Vowel

    [e]

    like the “e” in “bed”

Built block · vowel on the right

ㄱ + ㅔ =

게

[ge]

Block 5: 임 [im]

3 letters

  1. First consonant

    이응 ieung

    [silent]

    silent at the start: it only holds the place

  2. Vowel

    [i]

    i as in “see”

  3. Final (batchim)

    미음 mieum

    [m]

    plain m

Built block · vowel on the right, final at the bottom

ㅇ + ㅣ + ㅁ =

임

[im]

All blocks together

오 + 징 + 어 + 게 + 임 =

오징어게임

[Ojingeo Geim]usually spelled Squid Game

Spelling vs. sound

The official romanization is Ojingeo Geim, and the title is usually written with a space: 오징어 게임. Careful with “ojingeo”: it splits o-jing-eo, not o-jin-geo. The ng belongs to 징, and 어 is a block of its own.

Say it o-jing-eo-ge-im. ㅗ is the “o” in “go” without the w glide, 징 ends in “ng” as in “sing”, and 어 is an open “uh”. In 게 the ㄱ is a soft g and ㅔ is like the “e” in “bed”; 임 is “eem” with the lips closing on m.

오징어 is the everyday word for squid. The title comes from a children's playground game of the same name, and 게임 is the English word “game” written in Hangul.

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