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
|
