How to write 선우 in English
Seon-u
- Standard romanization · Seon-u
- As one word · Seonu
- Also seen on passports and profiles · Sunwoo
“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 Seonu
suhn-oo (roughly)
- 선seon
- 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”.
What 선우 means
善宇 · goodness, wide as the sky
- 善 선 — good (seon)
- 宇 우 — house, universe (u)
Korean names are often written with Chinese characters (hanja) the family picks. This is one common pairing — another 선우 may use different ones.
Mostly given to boys.
Meet a 선우
안녕하세요, 저는 선우예요. 만나서 반가워요.
Annyeonghaseyo, jeoneun Seonu-yeyo. Mannaseo bangawoyo. — Hi, I'm Seonu. Nice to meet you.
Close friends call them 선우야 (Seonu-ya). The -a / -ya ending is only for friends and people younger than you.