When we write individual letters in a syllabic unit for actual writing, there are five cases. As illustrated in the following diagram, the individual letters are arranged and proportioned to fit neatly into a square box, and are always read from left to right, then top to bottom.

A maximal Korean syllable structure is CVCC, where C represents "consonant" and V "vowel".

While C is optional, V is obligatory. The Korean syllable structure can therefore be re-written as (C) V (C) (C). All the possible combinations of the syllable occurrences are exemplified as the following: