David in Korean 데이비드
Korean media, baristas and the immigration office write David as 데이비드: four syllables, said de-i-bi-deu. Here's how it's built, how to say it, and what people will call you.
David letter by letter
Each Hangul block is one syllable, built from a consonant, a vowel and sometimes a final consonant underneath.
드 carries the filler vowel ㅡ (eu). Keep it short and light, almost just the consonant.
- ㄷ at the start is soft and unvoiced, halfway between t and d.
- ㅇ at the top of 이 is silent, so 이 is just the vowel: i.
- Give all 4 syllables the same weight. Korean has no strong stress, so it's de-i-bi-deu, evenly.
How Koreans would call you
Korean given names are almost always two syllables (after a one-syllable family name), so at 4 syllables 데이비드 reads as a foreign name at a glance. With foreign names some Koreans skip 야 and just say 데이비드 or 데이비드 씨.
Why it's spelled 데이비드
Spelled letter-by-letter you'd get 대비드, but Korean media write 데이비드, because the name is written the way it sounds, not the way it's spelled.
- There is no v in Korean either: v becomes ㅂ (b).
- The long a (as in "day") is spelled as two beats, 데이, because Korean writes each part of the diphthong.
- Korean adds the vowel ㅡ to consonants that have no vowel of their own (드), which is why David has 4 syllables in Korean.
Type David on a Korean keyboard
On the standard two-set (두벌식) layout, 데이비드 is the jamo ㄷㅔ ㅇㅣ ㅂㅣ ㄷㅡ, typed with the keys ep dl ql em. 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 David in Korean?
David is written 데이비드 in Hangul (Revised Romanization: deibideu). It is the standard spelling Korean media use for the name. In Hangul it has four syllables: 데 + 이 + 비 + 드.
How do you pronounce David in Korean?
Say it de-i-bi-deu, with even weight on every syllable. 드 carries the filler vowel ㅡ (eu). Keep it short and light, almost just the consonant.
Spellings follow the National Institute of Korean Language loanword rules and common Korean media usage. Last checked: October 2026.