Jonathan in Korean 조너선
Korean media, baristas and the immigration office write Jonathan as 조너선: three syllables, said jo-neo-seon. Here's how it's built, how to say it, and what people will call you.
Jonathan letter by letter
Each Hangul block is one syllable, built from a consonant, a vowel and sometimes a final consonant underneath.
ㅓ (eo) in 너 and 선 is the open "uh" of "sun", not an "o".
- ㅈ at the start is soft and unvoiced, halfway between ch and j.
- ㅗ is a pure "o" with rounded lips. Don't add the w-glide English puts in "go".
- Give all 3 syllables the same weight. Korean has no strong stress, so it's jo-neo-seon, evenly.
How Koreans would call you
Korean given names are almost always two syllables (after a one-syllable family name), so at 3 syllables 조너선 reads as a foreign name at a glance. In casual sentences Koreans often add 이 after a name that ends in a consonant: 조너선이 왔어 ("Jonathan's here").
Why it's spelled 조너선
Spelled letter-by-letter you'd get 조나산, but Korean media write 조너선, because the name is written the way it sounds, not the way it's spelled.
- Korean has no th, so th becomes ㅅ (s), the closest sound.
- The unstressed "uh" vowel is written ㅓ (eo), whatever letter English uses for it.
Type Jonathan on a Korean keyboard
On the standard two-set (두벌식) layout, 조너선 is the jamo ㅈㅗ ㄴㅓ ㅅㅓㄴ, typed with the keys wh sj tjs. 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 Jonathan in Korean?
Jonathan is written 조너선 in Hangul (Revised Romanization: joneoseon). It is the standard spelling Korean media use for the name. In Hangul it has three syllables: 조 + 너 + 선.
How do you pronounce Jonathan in Korean?
Say it jo-neo-seon, with even weight on every syllable. ㅓ (eo) in 너 and 선 is the open "uh" of "sun", not an "o".
Spellings follow the National Institute of Korean Language loanword rules and common Korean media usage. Last checked: October 2026.