Consonants

자음 Ja-eum. Tap a card for the name, sound, and example word.

Modern Hangul has 19 consonants: 14 basic consonants and 5 tense consonants. The basic consonants are ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, and ㅎ. The tense consonants are ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, and ㅉ. Many shapes point to the position of your mouth, tongue, lips, or throat.

Don't try to learn all 19 at once.

Start with the contrast between plain, aspirated, and tense sounds. Plain consonants such as ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, and ㅈ sound softer than their romanization suggests. Aspirated consonants such as ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, and ㅊ release a clear puff of air. Tense consonants such as ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, and ㅉ use more pressure in the throat. Use the cards to connect each shape with its sound, romanization, IPA value, and example word.

Did you know?

Each consonant shape was designed to mirror the position of the tongue and lips when producing the sound. ㅁ traces closed lips, ㄴ shows the tongue tip touching the palate, ㄱ depicts the back of the tongue raised toward the throat. King Sejong's 1443 commission made Hangul one of the most scientifically designed writing systems ever created.

Core pronunciation model

Beginner view. switch depending on how much detail you want.

Three consonant families

Korean stop sounds come in plain, airy, and tight versions. Do not collapse them into one English sound.

Read by blocks

Treat each square Hangul block as one beat of sound, not as separate letters in a row.

Batchim changes sound

A final consonant often sounds different from the same letter at the start of a syllable.

Use audio over spelling

Romanization helps at first, but your ears should become the final authority.

14Basic ConsonantsBeginner

ㄱ

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ㄱ

g/k/ɡ/

기역 Giyeok

Unaspirated Korean stop — between English 'g' and 'k'; closer to 'k' in 'skill' at start, 'k' at syllable end

가방·bag

ㄴ

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ㄴ

n/n/

니은 Nieun

Like 'n' in 'no'

나비·butterfly

ㄷ

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ㄷ

d/t/d/

디귿 Digeut

Unaspirated Korean stop — between English 'd' and 't'; closer to 't' in 'stop' at start, 't' at syllable end

다리·leg / bridge

ㄹ

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ㄹ

r/l/ɾ/

리을 Rieul

Flapped 'r' (like the 't' in butter) at start; 'l' at end

라디오·radio

ㅁ

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ㅁ

m/m/

미음 Mieum

Like 'm' in 'me'

마음·heart / mind

ㅂ

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ㅂ

b/p/b/

비읍 Bieup

Unaspirated Korean stop — between English 'b' and 'p'; closer to 'p' in 'spin' at start, 'p' at syllable end

바다·sea

ㅅ

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ㅅ

s/s/

시옷 Siot

Like 's' in 'so'

사랑·love

ㅇ

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ㅇ

— / ng/ŋ/

이응 Ieung

Silent placeholder at syllable start; 'ng' at end

아이·child

ㅈ

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ㅈ

j/dʑ/

지읒 Jieut

Like 'j' in 'just'

자동차·car

ㅊ

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ㅊ

ch/tɕʰ/

치읓 Chieut

Like 'ch' in 'chair', aspirated

차·car / tea

ㅋ

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ㅋ

k/kʰ/

키읔 Kieuk

Like 'k' in 'key', strongly aspirated

코·nose

ㅌ

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ㅌ

t/tʰ/

티읕 Tieut

Like 't' in 'top', strongly aspirated

태양·sun

ㅍ

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ㅍ

p/pʰ/

피읖 Pieup

Like 'p' in 'pen', strongly aspirated

파·green onion

ㅎ

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ㅎ

h/h/

히읗 Hieut

Like 'h' in 'hat'

하늘·sky

5Tense Consonants: 쌍자음Advanced

Doubled consonants with a tense, unaspirated quality. Hold tension just before the sound.

ㄲ

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ㄲ

kk/k͈/

쌍기역 Ssanggiyeok

Tense 'k' — like holding breath before 'k'

꿈·dream

ㄸ

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ㄸ

tt/t͈/

쌍디귿 Ssangdigeut

Tense 't' — unaspirated and tense

떡·rice cake

ㅃ

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ㅃ

pp/p͈/

쌍비읍 Ssangbieup

Tense 'p' — unaspirated and tense

빵·bread

ㅆ

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ㅆ

ss/s͈/

쌍시옷 Ssangsiot

Tense 's' — sharper than single ㅅ

씨·seed / title (Mr./Ms.)

ㅉ

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ㅉ

jj/t͈ɕ/

쌍지읒 Ssangjieut

Tense 'j' — unaspirated and tense

짜다·to be salty

Full Reference

Char	Roman.	Name	Sound	Example
ㄱ	g/k /ɡ/	기역 Giyeok	Unaspirated Korean stop — between English 'g' and 'k'; closer to 'k' in 'skill' at start, 'k' at syllable end	가방(bag)
ㄴ	n /n/	니은 Nieun	Like 'n' in 'no'	나비(butterfly)
ㄷ	d/t /d/	디귿 Digeut	Unaspirated Korean stop — between English 'd' and 't'; closer to 't' in 'stop' at start, 't' at syllable end	다리(leg / bridge)
ㄹ	r/l /ɾ/	리을 Rieul	Flapped 'r' (like the 't' in butter) at start; 'l' at end	라디오(radio)
ㅁ	m /m/	미음 Mieum	Like 'm' in 'me'	마음(heart / mind)
ㅂ	b/p /b/	비읍 Bieup	Unaspirated Korean stop — between English 'b' and 'p'; closer to 'p' in 'spin' at start, 'p' at syllable end	바다(sea)
ㅅ	s /s/	시옷 Siot	Like 's' in 'so'	사랑(love)
ㅇ	— / ng /ŋ/	이응 Ieung	Silent placeholder at syllable start; 'ng' at end	아이(child)
ㅈ	j /dʑ/	지읒 Jieut	Like 'j' in 'just'	자동차(car)
ㅊ	ch /tɕʰ/	치읓 Chieut	Like 'ch' in 'chair', aspirated	차(car / tea)
ㅋ	k /kʰ/	키읔 Kieuk	Like 'k' in 'key', strongly aspirated	코(nose)
ㅌ	t /tʰ/	티읕 Tieut	Like 't' in 'top', strongly aspirated	태양(sun)
ㅍ	p /pʰ/	피읖 Pieup	Like 'p' in 'pen', strongly aspirated	파(green onion)
ㅎ	h /h/	히읗 Hieut	Like 'h' in 'hat'	하늘(sky)
ㄲ	kk /k͈/	쌍기역 Ssanggiyeok	Tense 'k' — like holding breath before 'k'	꿈(dream)
ㄸ	tt /t͈/	쌍디귿 Ssangdigeut	Tense 't' — unaspirated and tense	떡(rice cake)
ㅃ	pp /p͈/	쌍비읍 Ssangbieup	Tense 'p' — unaspirated and tense	빵(bread)
ㅆ	ss /s͈/	쌍시옷 Ssangsiot	Tense 's' — sharper than single ㅅ	씨(seed / title (Mr./Ms.))
ㅉ	jj /t͈ɕ/	쌍지읒 Ssangjieut	Tense 'j' — unaspirated and tense	짜다(to be salty)

Ready for vowels?

You've seen all 19 consonants. Learn the 21 vowels to start building syllable blocks.

Learn Vowels →