Bianca, letter by letter
Hangul is written in blocks. Each block is one syllable, built from a consonant, a vowel and sometimes a final consonant at the bottom.
| Block | Letters | How each letter sounds | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| 비 | ㅂ + ㅣ | ㅂ b ㅣ i, as in “see” | bi |
| 앙 | ㅇ + ㅏ + ㅇ | ㅇ silent at the start ㅏ a, as in “father” ㅇ ng, as in “sing” at the end | ang |
| 카 | ㅋ + ㅏ | ㅋ k ㅏ a, as in “father” | ka |
Why Bianca is written this way
- Every sound in Bianca has a close match in Korean, so it is spelled just as it sounds: 비 (bi) + 앙 (ang) + 카 (ka).
- Say each block evenly. Korean doesn’t stress one syllable over the others the way English does, so Bianca sounds like bi-ang-ka.
Introducing yourself
The ending after your name depends on how it ends in Korean. 비앙카 ends in a vowel, so you say 제 이름은 비앙카예요 (je ireumeun biangkayeyo). With friends, Koreans add 야 (ya) when calling someone by name. At work, coworkers will usually call you 비앙카 씨 or 비앙카 님.
Official documents such as your residence card use your name in English letters, as in your passport. The Hangul spelling is what friends, coworkers and baristas will write.