Maria in Korean 마리아
Korean media, baristas and the immigration office write Maria as 마리아: three syllables, said ma-ri-a. Here's how it's built, how to say it, and what people will call you.
Maria letter by letter
Each Hangul block is one syllable, built from a consonant, a vowel and sometimes a final consonant underneath.
ㄹ between two vowels (마리) is one quick tap of the tongue, like the tt in American "butter": closer to a soft d than an English r.
- ㅇ at the top of 아 is silent, so 아 is just the vowel: a.
- Give all 3 syllables the same weight. Korean has no strong stress, so it's ma-ri-a, evenly.
How Koreans would call you
Korean given names are almost always two syllables (after a one-syllable family name), so at 3 syllables 마리아 reads as a foreign name at a glance. With foreign names some Koreans skip 야 and just say 마리아 or 마리아 씨.
Why it's spelled 마리아
Here the letters and the sound line up: applying the loanword rules letter by letter already gives 마리아, the same spelling Korean media use.
Type Maria on a Korean keyboard
On the standard two-set (두벌식) layout, 마리아 is the jamo ㅁㅏ ㄹㅣ ㅇㅏ, typed with the keys ak fl dk. 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 Maria in Korean?
Maria is written 마리아 in Hangul (Revised Romanization: maria). It is the standard spelling Korean media use for the name. In Hangul it has three syllables: 마 + 리 + 아.
How do you pronounce Maria in Korean?
Say it ma-ri-a, with even weight on every syllable. ㄹ between two vowels (마리) is one quick tap of the tongue, like the tt in American "butter": closer to a soft d than an English r.
Spellings follow the National Institute of Korean Language loanword rules and common Korean media usage. Last checked: October 2026.