Kelly in Korean 켈리
Korean media, baristas and the immigration office write Kelly as 켈리: two syllables, said kel-li. Here's how it's built, how to say it, and what people will call you.
Kelly letter by letter
Each Hangul block is one syllable, built from a consonant, a vowel and sometimes a final consonant underneath.
The double ㄹ in 켈리 is a clear English l, as in "hello", not an r.
- ㅋ at the start is aspirated: a clear puff of air, like the k in "kite".
- Two even beats, kel-li: Korean doesn't stress one syllable over the other the way English does.
How Koreans would call you
Korean given names are almost always two syllables, so 켈리 already sounds natural to Korean ears. With foreign names some Koreans skip 야 and just say 켈리 or 켈리 씨.
Why it's spelled 켈리
Here the letters and the sound line up: applying the loanword rules letter by letter already gives 켈리, the same spelling Korean media use.
- An l between vowels is written twice (final ㄹ + ㄹ), so Koreans say a clear l instead of a tapped r.
Type Kelly on a Korean keyboard
On the standard two-set (두벌식) layout, 켈리 is the jamo ㅋㅔㄹ ㄹㅣ, typed with the keys zpf fl. 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 Kelly in Korean?
Kelly is written 켈리 in Hangul (Revised Romanization: kelli). It is the standard spelling Korean media use for the name. In Hangul it has two syllables: 켈 + 리.
How do you pronounce Kelly in Korean?
Say it kel-li, with even weight on every syllable. The double ㄹ in 켈리 is a clear English l, as in "hello", not an r.
Spellings follow the National Institute of Korean Language loanword rules and common Korean media usage. Last checked: October 2026.