There are 19 consonants in Korean. They can be divided into three groups: simple consonants, aspirated consonants, and double consonants.
Simple Consonants
The group of simple consonants includes nine letters.
Examples for each letter and position:
|
Consonant |
Pronunciation |
||
|
Initial Position |
Medial Position (between two vowels or after a resonant consonant) |
Final Position |
|
|
ㄱ |
Like the "k" in "kick" 감 [kam] "persimmon" |
Like the "g" in "gold" 고기 [kogi] "meat" |
Like "k" but not fully pronounced - a glottal stop 박 [pak] gourd" |
|
ㄴ |
Like the "n" in "nice" 나무 [namu] "tree" |
Like the "n" in "nice" 군대 [kundae] "army" |
Like the "n" in "nice" 문 [mun] "door" |
|
ㄷ |
Like the "t" in "ten" 달 [tal] "moon" |
Like the "d" in "day" 바다 [pada] "sea" |
Like "t" but not fully pronounced - a glottal stop 받다 [patta] "receive" |
|
ㄹ |
In the Southern Korean dialect, this letter is used only in the borrowed words and is pronounced like "r". In the Northern Korean dialect, it is pronounced like the "r" in "red". 로마 [roma] "Rome" |
Like the "r" in "red" (between two vowels and before ㅎ) 다리 [tari] "leg" Like the "l" in "love" (before all consonants except ㅎ) 살다 [salda] "live" |
Like the "l" in "love" (in the final position and before a consonant) 날 [nal] "day" |
|
ㅁ |
Like the "m" in "man" 몸 [mom] "body" |
Like the "m" in "man" 나무 [namu] "tree" |
Like the "m" in "man" 몸 [mom] "body" |
|
ㅂ |
Like the "p" in "pen" 비 [pi] "rain" |
Like the "b" in "boy" 나비 [nabi] "butterfly" |
Like "p" but not fully pronounced - a glottal stop 밥 [pap] "rice" |
|
ㅅ |
A sound between "s" and "sh" 사람 [saram] "man" |
A sound between "s" and "sh" 소설 [sosol] "novel" |
Like "t" but not fully pronounced - a glottal stop 옷 [ot] "clothes" |
|
ㅈ |
Like the "ch" in "chicken" 집 [chip] "house" |
Like the "j" in "jam" 바지 [padzi] "trousers" |
Like "t" but not fully pronounced - a glottal stop 낮 [nat] "day" |
|
ㅇ |
Not pronounced 옷 [ot] "clothes" |
Like the "ng" in "king" 공원 [kongwon] "park" |
Like the "ng" in "king" 강 [kang] "river" |
Aspirated Consonants
There are five aspirated consonants in Korean. The aspirated consonants are pronounced like the simple consonants but with an extra-heavy puff of air.
|
Consonant |
Pronunciation |
Example |
|
ㅋ |
[k'] |
칼 [khal] "knife" |
|
ㅌ |
[t'] |
틈 [theum] "crack" |
|
ㅊ |
[j'] |
책 [jhaek] "book" |
|
ㅍ |
[p'] |
피리 [phiri] "flute" |
|
ㅎ |
Like the "h" in "hand" |
힘 [him] "strength" |
Double Consonants
There are five double consonants in Korean. The double consonants are pronounced like the simple consonants but with a "tightness" in the throat.
|
Consonant |
Pronunciation |
Example |
|
ㄲ |
[kk] |
끄다 [kkeuda] "extinguish" |
|
ㄸ |
[tt] |
딸 [tal] "daughter" |
|
ㅃ |
[pp] |
빵 [pang] "bread" |
|
ㅉ |
[jj] |
찜 [jjim] "steam" |
|
ㅆ |
[ss] |
쓰다 [sseuda] "write" |
See Also: