Bob in Korean 밥
Korean media, baristas and the immigration office write Bob as 밥: one syllable, said bap. Here's how it's built, how to say it, and what people will call you.
Bob letter by letter
Each Hangul block is one syllable, built from a consonant, a vowel and sometimes a final consonant underneath.
The final ㅂ in 밥 is unreleased: stop the sound (p) without a puff of air.
- ㅂ at the start is soft and unvoiced, halfway between p and b.
- It's a single syllable in Korean, so say it in one short beat: bap.
How Koreans would call you
One syllable is short for Korea, where given names are almost always two, so 밥 stands out and is easy to remember. In casual sentences Koreans often add 이 after a name that ends in a consonant: 밥이 왔어 ("Bob's here").
밥 means cooked rice, or a meal, in Korean. 밥 먹었어? ("Have you eaten?") is a standard greeting, so expect jokes.
Why it's spelled 밥
Spelled letter-by-letter you'd get 보브, but Korean media write 밥, because the name is written the way it sounds, not the way it's spelled.
Type Bob on a Korean keyboard
On the standard two-set (두벌식) layout, 밥 is the jamo ㅂㅏㅂ, typed with the keys qkq. Want to get fast at it? Try the Hangul Typing Test.
Similar names in Korean
Write any name in Hangul
Questions people ask
How do you write Bob in Korean?
Bob is written 밥 in Hangul (Revised Romanization: bap). It is the standard spelling Korean media use for the name. In Hangul it has one syllable: 밥.
How do you pronounce Bob in Korean?
Say it bap, with one short beat. The final ㅂ in 밥 is unreleased: stop the sound (p) without a puff of air.
Spellings follow the National Institute of Korean Language loanword rules and common Korean media usage. Last checked: October 2026.