Basic Consonants
Consonants are letters that can't be pronounced without vowels' help. There are 14 basic consonants in Korean. Unlike vowels whose sounds were their names, consonants have their sounds and separate names that come from the sounds.
If you are a beginner, focus on their sounds here. You'll learn their names once you learn all the letters. Let's learn one by one! Click the play button to listen and repeat the sounds of the letters.
Quick Chart
To listen to the pronunciation of each consonant sound, simply click on the corresponding letter in the chart. Keep in mind that consonants require a vowel to be pronounced correctly. The vowel "ㅡ" has been used, but has not been written with the consonant to help you focus solely on the consonant.
Walk Through
ㄱ
G
ㄱ sounds /g/ like "game." or "gate". Sometimes, ㄱ romanized as /k/.
For the common Korean family name "Kim" actually uses this ㄱ letter in Korean. So technically, "Gim" is the right pronunciation. There is a letter that has the /k/ sound, the 11th basic consonant you will learn below.
I show you the writing order for ㄱ in two steps to make it easier to understand. However, it is actually a letter you have to write in one stroke. Try writing two steps continuously.
ㄴ
N
ㄴ sounds /n/ like "name." or "nose." Just like ㄱ, you have to write this letter in one stroke. It looks like the English letter "L," doesn't it? But it has a longer left-to-right line than "L."
ㄷ
D
ㄷ sounds /d/ like "door." or "dog." To show you well, I divide it into three steps. However, you are supposed to write this with two strokes! Write the left-to-right line. Then, write the steps 2 and 3 continuously. You know, just like you did to write the letter "ㄴ" above.
ㄹ
L
ㄹ sounds /l/ like "lion." Korean doesn't have a /r/ sound. So, a letter with /r/ in English is written with this ㄹ when they are Koreanized.
This snake-looking letter has a lot of steps, but simply imagine you are combined ㄱ and ㄷ. So, write steps 1 and 2 with one stroke, write step 3 from left to right, and write steps 4 and 5 in one stroke as well.
ㅁ
M
ㅁ sounds /m/ like "mom." or"mouse." Just like English m, you close your lips and open them to say "ㅁ". When you write it, try to write steps 2 and 3 in one stroke, just like you are writing ㄱ(g).
ㅂ
B
ㅂ sounds /b/ like "bee," "bike" or even "view". Korean doesn't have an exact /v/ sound, so we use the closest sound "ㅂ" for the loanwords with "v".
Extra Reading: There is actually some controversy about "ㅂ" writing orders. Some people say you can write them with two vertical lines first and then add two horizontal lines like above. Some people say left verticle, two horizontals, and right verticle. Some use ㅣ→ ㅏ→ ㅐ→ ㅂ order. For now, you can practice like the example above.
ㅅ
S
ㅅsounds /s/ like "sim" or "suit." You can write two diagonal lines to the left first and then right. Don't forget to write them from top to down!
ㅇ
∅
When"ㅇ" comes to the first consonant place, it doesn't have a sound. That is why there is no play button here! And this means you just pronounce a vowel as it is. You have to write it counterclockwise.
ㅈ
J
ㅈ sounds /j/ like "jam" or "juice." It is a letter with a left-right horizontal on the top of ㅅ. You have to write that top line first. Then, you can write the two top-down lines. You can make them straight lines or you can slightly bend them as well.
ㅊ
CH
ㅊ sounds /ch/ like "chicken" or "chew." It has a line on the top of ㅈ. The top line can be vertical or horizontal. Depending on the font you use, the two last lines can be slightly bent or straight.
ㅋ
K
ㅋ sounds /k/ like "key" or "king." ㅋ came from the letter "ㄱ(g)" by adding more strength to it. So, please write steps 1 and 2 in one stroke (just like writing ㄱ) and add one stick in the middle.
Here is some pronunciation help. Try to say both ㄱ and ㅋ in order and focus on where your tongue is located. They are in the same position. ㄱ's shape actually came from this tongue's form when you say this sound and since ㅋ is the stronger sound that came at the same position, it got an extra line.
One more fun experiment. Put your hand in front of your mouth and say two consonants again. You will be able to feel more air when you say "ㅋ" than "ㄱ".
ㅌ
T
ㅌ sounds /t/ like "tiger" or "team." Just like ㄱ and ㅋ's relation, you will be able to guess where this ㅌ came from. Write ㄷ first and add an extra line in the middle.
You can try the same experiment here. Say ㄷ and ㅌ as you place your hand in the front area of your mouth. Which one can you feel more air?
ㅍ
P
ㅍ sounds /p/ like "pop." or "ping-pong". ㅍ is a related word to ㅂ. You can tell they look similar, right? ㅍ will make more air out than ㅂ when you close and open your lips together.
ㅎ
H
ㅎ sounds /h/ like "hippo" or "hat". It looks like the letter "ㅇ" wears a hat. This hat consists of two lines. Under the hat, you'll add the same counterclockwise circle. The two lines for the hat can be vertical and horizontal (┴) or two horizontal(=) with a short top and longer bottom.
Basic Consonant Video
Here is the video you can listen to and repeat. You can also see the writing orders well. Follow the video and try to say the basic consonants.
Quiz
Worksheet
You can download the free worksheet to practice Korean basic consonants! Please click the link below. If you want to get more worksheets, please check out my "Free Worksheets" menu as well!