How to write 건우 in English
Geon-u
- Standard romanization · Geon-u
- As one word · Geonu
- Also seen on passports and profiles · Gunwoo, Kunwoo
“Standard” means the Revised Romanization of Korean — the system on road signs and in textbooks. Families pick their own passport spelling, which is why one name has several.
How to say Geonu
guhn-oo (roughly)
- 건geon
- 우u
Korean gives every syllable the same weight — no strong beat.
Sounds that trip up English speakers
- eo (ㅓ) is one vowel, the “u” in “cup” — not “ee-oh”.
- u is always “oo” as in “moon”, never “you”.
- The first g is softer than in English — halfway to k. That's why 김 is spelled Kim.
What 건우 means
建宇 · builds a world
- 建 건 — build (geon)
- 宇 우 — house, universe (u)
Korean names are often written with Chinese characters (hanja) the family picks. This is one common pairing — another 건우 may use different ones.
Mostly given to boys.
Meet a 건우
안녕하세요, 저는 건우예요. 만나서 반가워요.
Annyeonghaseyo, jeoneun Geonu-yeyo. Mannaseo bangawoyo. — Hi, I'm Geonu. Nice to meet you.
Close friends call them 건우야 (Geonu-ya). The -a / -ya ending is only for friends and people younger than you.