The Korean alphabet (νκΈ, Hangul) is one of the most scientific writing systems ever created. In this lesson you'll master all 19 consonants β 14 basic and 5 double (tense) consonants.
Estimated Time: 45β60 minutes
Hangul was created in 1443 by King Sejong the Great so that ordinary people could read and write. Before Hangul, Korea used Chinese characters (νμ), which required years of study. Sejong designed Hangul to be so logical that "a wise person can learn it in one morning, and even a fool can learn it in ten days."
π‘ Fun Fact: Hangul's consonant shapes are based on the shape of the mouth, tongue, and throat when making each sound. It's literally a diagram of how you speak!
Korean has 14 basic consonant letters. Each has a name and represents a specific sound. Pay attention to how the sound can change depending on its position in a syllable.
| Letter | Name | Initial Sound | Final Sound (λ°μΉ¨) | Shape origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| γ± | κΈ°μ (giyeok) | g (as in go) | k | Pictograph β the tongue root closing the throat |
| γ΄ | λμ (nieun) | n (as in no) | n | Pictograph β the tongue touching the upper palate |
| γ· | λκ·Ώ (digeut) | d (as in do) | t | γ΄ + one stroke |
| γΉ | 리μ (rieul) | r/l (between the two) | l | Variant form (η°ι«ε) β outside the stroke system |
| γ | λ―Έμ (mieum) | m (as in mom) | m | Pictograph β the outline of the mouth |
| γ | λΉμ (bieup) | b (as in bus) | p | γ + two strokes |
| γ | μμ· (siot) | s (as in sun) | t | Pictograph β the shape of a tooth |
| γ | μ΄μ (ieung) | silent (placeholder) | ng | Pictograph β the outline of the throat |
| γ | μ§μ (jieut) | j (as in joy) | t | γ + one stroke |
| γ | μΉμ (chieut) | ch (as in chin) | t | γ + one stroke |
| γ | ν€μ (kieuk) | k (as in kite) | k | γ± + one stroke |
| γ | ν°μ (tieut) | t (as in top) | t | γ· + one stroke |
| γ | νΌμ (pieup) | p (as in park) | p | γ + one stroke |
| γ | νμ (hieut) | h (as in hat) | silent/t | γ + one stroke (and γ = γ + one) |
Plain β Aspirated: Some consonants come in pairs. The aspirated version releases a stronger puff of air (hold your hand in front of your mouth β you'll feel the difference):
γ± (g) β γ (k) Β· γ· (d) β γ (t) Β· γ (b) β γ (p) Β· γ (j) β γ (ch)
Double consonants are written by repeating the basic consonant. They're pronounced with a tight, tense throat β no puff of air, but with extra force. English doesn't really have this sound, so it takes practice!
| Letter | Name | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| γ² | μκΈ°μ (ssang-giyeok) | Hard "kk" β no breath | κΉ (kka) |
| γΈ | μλκ·Ώ (ssang-digeut) | Hard "tt" β no breath | λ° (tta) |
| γ | μλΉμ (ssang-bieup) | Hard "pp" β no breath | λΉ (ppa) |
| γ | μμμ· (ssang-siot) | Hard "ss" β no breath | μΈ (ssa) |
| γ | μμ§μ (ssang-jieut) | Hard "jj" β no breath | μ§ (jja) |
Korean has three types of consonants for each group β this is the trickiest part for English speakers:
Plain (lenis): γ± γ· γ γ Β· /k t p tΙ/
Aspirated: γ γ γ γ Β· /kΚ° tΚ° pΚ° tΙΚ°/
Tense (fortis, doubled): γ² γΈ γ γ γ Β· /kΝ tΝ pΝ tΙΝ/
Practice by holding a tissue in front of your mouth: the tissue should flutter for aspirated, not for tense, and barely for plain.
All three series are voiceless at the start of a word β none of them is the English "b" or "g". What separates them is voice onset time: how long the vocal folds wait before they start buzzing.
| Series | Example | Typical VOT | What your throat does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tense | κΉ | ~12 ms | Glottis tight, voicing almost immediate |
| Plain (lenis) | κ° | ~30β50 ms | Relaxed β and yes, slightly aspirated |
| Aspirated | μΉ΄ | ~80β100+ ms | A long breathy delay before the vowel |
So the plain series is not unaspirated β it simply aspirates less. And in Seoul Korean the contrast is currently shifting: among younger speakers plain and aspirated VOT have converged, and the cue that now separates them is the pitch of the following vowel (aspirated β high, plain β low). If you can hear the difference in pitch but not in breath, you are hearing modern Korean correctly.
The Hunminjeongeum Haerye (νλ―Όμ μ ν΄λ‘λ³Έ, 1446) β the commentary that explains the alphabet β describes three separate mechanisms. Most introductions blur them together, which makes Hangul look more arbitrary than it is. Kept apart, the whole system falls out of five drawings and one rule.
Exactly five letters are pictures of the vocal tract. Click each diagram to hear it.
You will often read that γ is the mouth seen from the side, that γ· is the tongue against the tooth ridge, or that γ is air streaming out of the throat. None of these appear in the Haerye. All three letters are derived by adding strokes, and derived letters are given no picture of their own β they inherit meaning from their base. γ is labial because γ is; γ· is lingual because γ΄ is.
Every remaining consonant is built by adding a stroke to a base, on an explicit phonetic principle. The Haerye puts it plainly:
γ ζ―γ±οΌθ²εΊη¨ε²οΌζ ε η«γ
"Compared with γ±, the sound of γ issues forth somewhat more fiercely (ε²) β therefore a stroke is added."
A stroke is not decoration. It is a visual mark of a phonetically stronger sound.
γ (μ¬λ¦°νμ, a glottal stop) is the missing rung most charts skip. It fell out of use, but without it the guttural series γ β γ looks like it jumps two strokes at once.
The tense consonants are a different mechanism entirely β not the end of a stroke-addition chain. The letter is simply written twice, side by side.
The 1446 document actually lists six doubled letters. The sixth, γ (μνμ), is long obsolete.
Three letters belong to none of the above. The Haerye calls them η°ι«ε β "letters of a different form" β and says of them:
εθι³γΉοΌει½ι³γ Ώ β¦ η°ε Άι«οΌη‘ε η«δΉηΎ©ηγ
"The semi-lingual γΉ and the semi-dental γ Ώ β¦ differ in their form; there is no stroke-addition principle in them."
γΉ, along with the obsolete γ and γ Ώ, sits outside the system by design. That is why you will never find γΉ in a derivation tree β and why its absence is a fact about Hangul, not an oversight in the chart.
Primary text: the εΆε解 ("Explanation of the Design of the Letters") chapter of the νλ―Όμ μ ν΄λ‘λ³Έ on Wikisource. English overview: Origin of Hangul. Note that the English Wikipedia Hangul article renders ιε in the γ± gloss as "blocking the upper palate"; ε means throat.
Q1: Which consonant is silent at the beginning of a syllable but sounds like "ng" at the end?
Q2: What's the aspirated partner of γ±?
Q3: How do you write a tense "ss" sound?
Try writing each consonant by hand (on paper or a tablet). Follow this order for each group:
γ± γ΄ γ· γΉ γ γ γ γ γ
Write each one 5 times. Say its name and sound as you write.
γ γ γ γ γ
Notice how each builds on a basic shape by adding strokes.
γ² γΈ γ γ γ
Practice the tight throat feeling. No puff of air!
In Lesson 2, you'll learn the vowels and how to combine consonants + vowels into syllable blocks β the building blocks of reading Korean!