Learning Korean: Part One – Learning to Read Korean – Consonants

The Korean Alphabet

The Korean alphabet is similar to the English alphabet: each “letter” represents a specific sound, and several “letters” together create a syllable. I will instruct you on the sounds each Korean “letter” makes and how to correctly read Korean syllables.

Consonants

There are 19 Korean consonants to learn: 14 single consonants and 5 double consonants. Most of the consonants are relatively simple and easy to learn.

Single Consonants

ㄱ – This consonant makes a hard “g” or “k” sound; usually a “g” sound at the beginning of a syllable and a “k” sound at the end of a syllable.

ㄴ – This consonant is the equivalent of the “n” sound.

ㄷ – This consonant makes a light “d” or “t” sound; a “t” at the beginning of a syllable and a “d” sound at the end of a syllable.

ㄹ – This consonant is a mix of a “l” or “r.” I’ve also heard the sound described as a slightly rolled r (like commonly used in the Spanish language, only it’s very slight.)  Sometimes, though, it makes a strong “l” sound or a strong “r” sound, rather than a mix.  It all just depends on the word and the placement of ㄹ in the syllable.

ㅁ -  This consonant makes a “m” sound

ㅂ – This consonant makes a light “b,” almost a “p,” sound.  There is another consonant, a double consonant, that produces the “hard” b sound.

ㅅ – This consonant is equivalent to an “s” or “sh” sound, depending on which vowels follow it.

ㅇ – This vowel is silent at the beginning of a syllable, and makes the “-ng” sound at the end of a syllable (like in sing or rang)

ㅈ – This makes a “j” or soft “ch” sound.

ㅊ – A harder “ch” sound than the “ㅈ” sound.

ㅋ – a harder k sound than the ㄱ consonant, as in king.

ㅌ – A more firm “t” than the ㄷ consonant, as in terrible.

ㅍ – A more firm “p” sound than exemplified by ㅂ, like in pop.

ㅎ – a “h” sound, like in hello or happy.

Double Consonants

Double consonants are sharper, more emphasized versions of their single equivalents.

There are only five double consonants:  ㅃ, ㅉ, ㄸ, ㄲ, ㅆ.  They are easy enough to learn without explanations for them all.  Just match them to their corresponding single consonants, and change the pronunciation slightly to a more sharp and emphasized sound.