KOREAN CONSONANTS: SIMPLE CONSONANTS

LESSON

Hangul has 19 consonant symbols, comprising of 14 simple consonants and 5 complex consonants.

SIMPLE CONSONANTS

Each of these 14 consonant sounds can be described along two dimensions:

1. Place of articulation: where it is produced in the mouth

2. Manner of articulation: how the air escapes from the mouth

The table below describes each simple consonant with respect to these two dimensions. Pay close attention and practice pronouncing each of them.

	LABIAL Closed lips	ALVEOLAR Tongue behind teeth	PALATAL Blade & body of tongue up	VELAR Body (back) of tongue up	GLOTTAL Air through throat
PLAIN STOP*	ㅂ b / p	ㄷ d / t	ㅈ j / ch	ㄱ g / k
ASPRIATED STOP (strong puff of air)	ㅍ p	ㅌ t	ㅊ ch	ㅋ K
FRICATIVE (hissing/airy sound)		ㅅ s			ㅎ h
NASAL (air through the nose)	ㅁ m	ㄴ n		ㅇ^ ng
FLAP / LIQUID*		ㄹ r / l

Table adapted from: Beginning Korea by David .J. Silva

Note items marked as follows:

1.     *According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's 2000 Romanization scheme, when these Korean letters appear immediately before a vowel, they are Romanized with the character to the left. Otherwise, use the character to the right.

2.     ^At the beginning of a syllable, ㅇ represents silence. At the end of a syllable, ㅇ represents the velar nasal sound (as found at the end of English sing and long).

3.     A note about the plain stops: When the plain stops appear at the beginning of a word, they are pronounced like English p, t, ch, k – but without the "puff of air" that typically accompanies these sounds in English. Between vowels, the lax stops are voiced (i.e., the vocal folds in the voice box vibrate): b, d, j, g. At the end of a word, or when followed by another consonant, they are voiceless and unreleased.

4.     When ㅅ s occurs before either 이 i or 위 wi, it is pronounced like the "sh" sound of English: 십 ship 'ten'; 쉽다 shwipta 'to be easy'.

5.     ^When ㄹ occurs before a vowel, it is pronounced as r; otherwise, it pronounced as l: 파리 pari 'housefly' vs. 팔 pal 'arm'. ㄹ never occurs at the beginning of a Korean word, though it can occur at the beginning of borrowed words: 로타리 rotari 'rotary'; 라이터 raitǒ '(cigarette) lighter'.

Let’s take a closer look at the sounds these consonants make:

CONSONANT SCRIPT	KOREAN EXAMPLE	NIGERIAN EXAMPLE
ㅂ	밥  /pap/ meaning  rice	Park (relaxed)
ㅍ	피아노 /piano/ meaning piano	Pill (aspirated)
ㄷ	아들 adeul meaning  son	Tall (relaxed)
ㅌ	토요일 toyoil meaning Saturday	talk (aspirated)
ㄱ	구름 guleum meaning  cloud	Kiss (relaxed)
ㅋ	키 ki meaning key	king (aspirated)
ㅈ	아줌마 ajumma meaning Auntie	Chill (relaxed)
ㅊ	아침 achim meaning  morning	change (aspirated)
ㅁ	무지개 mugjigae meaning  rainbow	Mother
ㅇ	안녕 annyeong meaning hello	King
ㄴ	나무 namu meaning tree	Nose
ㄹ	입술 ipsul meaning  lips	l as in lung or r as in Spanish r (Sounds like a fusion of  r &l)
ㅎ	한국 hanguk meaning  Korean	Hope
ㅅ	스타 seuta meaning  star	Soul

VIDEOS/AUDIO FILES

 

See YouTube video files below for guide in pronunciation

VOCABULARY OF THE LESSON

VOCABULARY	ROMANIZATION	MEANING
밥	Pap	Rice
피아노	Piano	Piano
아들	Adeul	Son
토요일	Toyoil	Saturday
구름	Guleum	Cloud
키	Ki	Key
아줌마 .	Ajumma	Auntie
아침	Achim	Morning
무지개	Mugjigae	Rainbow
안녕	Annyeong	Hello
나무	Namu	Tree
입술	Ipsul	Lips
한국	Hanguk	Korean
스타	Seuta	Star
로타리	Rotari	Rotary
라이터	Raito	(cigarette) lighter
파리	Pari	housefly
팔	Pal	arm
십	Ship	ten
쉽다	shwipta	To be easy