Thao in Korean 타오
Korean media, baristas and the immigration office write Thao as 타오: two syllables, said ta-o. Here's how it's built, how to say it, and what people will call you.
Thao letter by letter
Each Hangul block is one syllable, built from a consonant, a vowel and sometimes a final consonant underneath.
ㅌ at the start is aspirated: a clear puff of air, like the t in "top".
- ㅗ is a pure "o" with rounded lips. Don't add the w-glide English puts in "go".
- ㅇ at the top of 오 is silent, so 오 is just the vowel: o.
- Two even beats, ta-o: 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 타오 already sounds natural to Korean ears. With foreign names some Koreans skip 야 and just say 타오 or 타오 씨.
Why it's spelled 타오
Spelled letter-by-letter you'd get 새오, but Korean media write 타오, because the name is written the way it sounds in Vietnamese, not the way it's spelled.
- Korean has an official Vietnamese table: nh, ng and the vowel marks map to specific Hangul, which is why the spelling looks unexpected.
Type Thao on a Korean keyboard
On the standard two-set (두벌식) layout, 타오 is the jamo ㅌㅏ ㅇㅗ, typed with the keys xk dh. 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 Thao in Korean?
Thao is written 타오 in Hangul (Revised Romanization: tao). It is the standard spelling Korean media use for the name and follows the Vietnamese pronunciation. In Hangul it has two syllables: 타 + 오.
How do you pronounce Thao in Korean?
Say it ta-o, with even weight on every syllable. ㅌ at the start is aspirated: a clear puff of air, like the t in "top".
Spellings follow the National Institute of Korean Language loanword rules and common Korean media usage. Last checked: October 2026.