When we write individual letters in a syllabic unit for actual writing, there are five cases. As illustrated in the following diagram, the individual letters are arranged and proportioned to fit neatly into a square box, and are always read from left to right, then top to bottom.

A maximal Korean syllable structure is CVCC, where C represents "consonant" and V "vowel".

While C is optional, V is obligatory. The Korean syllable structure can therefore be re-written as (C) V (C) (C). All the possible combinations of the syllable occurrences are exemplified as the following:

The sounds ¤¡, ¤§, and ¤² are transcribed respectively as g, d, and b when they appear before a vowel; they are transcribed as k, t, and p when followed by another consonant or form the final sound of a word.

Twenty-seven forms of final consonant(s) in Korean are pronounced as only seven sounds as follows :