Leigh in Korean 리
Korean media, baristas and the immigration office write Leigh as 리: one syllable, said ri. Here's how it's built, how to say it, and what people will call you.
Leigh letter by letter
Each Hangul block is one syllable, built from a consonant, a vowel and sometimes a final consonant underneath.
The opening ㄹ is a single light tap, halfway between an English r and l. Never roll it.
- It's a single syllable in Korean, so say it in one short beat: ri.
How Koreans would call you
One syllable is short for Korea, where given names are almost always two, so 리 stands out and is easy to remember. With foreign names some Koreans skip 야 and just say 리 or 리 씨.
리 is how North Korea writes the family name 이 (Lee), so it can read like a surname.
Why it's spelled 리
Spelled letter-by-letter you'd get 레이, but Korean media write 리, because the name is written the way it sounds, not the way it's spelled.
- The gh is silent, so it leaves no trace in Hangul.
Type Leigh on a Korean keyboard
On the standard two-set (두벌식) layout, 리 is the jamo ㄹㅣ, typed with the keys 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 Leigh in Korean?
Leigh is written 리 in Hangul (Revised Romanization: ri). It is the standard spelling Korean media use for the name. In Hangul it has one syllable: 리.
How do you pronounce Leigh in Korean?
Say it ri, with one short beat. The opening ㄹ is a single light tap, halfway between an English r and l. Never roll it.
Spellings follow the National Institute of Korean Language loanword rules and common Korean media usage. Last checked: October 2026.