Hangul · consonants
Hangul consonants and their sound families
Hangul consonants make more sense as Korean families than as fixed English letters. Several places of articulation have a plain, aspirated, and tense member that must be compared directly.
One roman letter is not one Korean sound
ㄱ is often written g or k, but neither label is permanent. Its sound depends on position and context. The useful contrast is with aspirated ㅋ and tense ㄲ, not with one English spelling.
The same family pattern appears with ㄷ・ㅌ・ㄸ, ㅂ・ㅍ・ㅃ, and ㅈ・ㅊ・ㅉ. Listen for aspiration and tension rather than for English voiced-versus-voiceless categories alone.
Shape carries a clue
Several basic consonant shapes were designed around where the sound is formed. Added strokes often mark stronger aspiration. The writing system is systematic, but accurate pronunciation still comes from comparing real Korean sounds.
Reference
Hangul consonants to compare
Treat the reading labels as orientation and the explanations as the actual lesson.
ㄱ is the normal, low-puff sound in the ㄱ–ㅋ–ㄲ family. It can sound closer to English k or g depending on where it appears, so do not lock it to just one English letter.
ㄴ is an n sound made with the tongue at the ridge behind the upper teeth.
ㄷ is the normal, low-puff sound in the ㄷ–ㅌ–ㄸ family. It can sound closer to English t or d depending on where it appears.
Between vowels, tap your tongue once quickly for ㄹ. At the end of a syllable, keep the tongue touching for an l-like finish. Both sounds come from the same Korean letter.
ㅁ is an m sound made with both lips. Its square shape represents the mouth.
ㅂ is the normal, low-puff sound in the ㅂ–ㅍ–ㅃ family. It can sound closer to English p or b depending on where it appears.
ㅅ is s-like, but before ㅣ and y-vowels it shifts toward sh. At a syllable end it closes as t.
At the start of a syllable, ㅇ is silent and simply holds the vowel's place. At the end, it has the ng sound in sing. Look at its position to know which sound to use.
ㅈ is the normal, low-puff sound in the ㅈ–ㅊ–ㅉ family. It may sound closer to English j or ch depending on where it appears.
ㅊ is the strong-puff sound in the ㅈ–ㅊ–ㅉ family. Release it with a clear burst of air.
ㅋ is the strong-puff sound in the ㄱ–ㅋ–ㄲ family. Release it with a clear burst of air.
ㅌ is the strong-puff sound in the ㄷ–ㅌ–ㄸ family. Release it with a clear burst of air.
ㅍ is the strong-puff sound in the ㅂ–ㅍ–ㅃ family. Open your lips with a clear burst of air.
ㅎ is an h-like breath sound. Between vowels it may become faint. Next to another consonant, it can make that consonant come out with a stronger puff of air.
ㄲ is the tight sound in the ㄱ–ㅋ–ㄲ family. Tense your throat slightly and release it with very little air.
ㄸ is the tight sound in the ㄷ–ㅌ–ㄸ family. Tense your throat slightly and release it with very little air.
ㅃ is the tight sound in the ㅂ–ㅍ–ㅃ family. Close your lips firmly and release them with very little air.
ㅆ is the tight, sharper version of ㅅ. Hold the s sound more firmly; unlike ㅅ, it stays more clearly s-like before ㅣ and y-vowels.
ㅉ is the tight sound in the ㅈ–ㅊ–ㅉ family. Tense your throat slightly and release it with very little air.
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Practice hangul consonants and their sound families
Choose an answer, read the explanation, and finish the short set without leaving this page.