Hangul Consonants
Hangul consonants: 14 basic + 5 double consonants
Can recognize and pronounce all 19 Hangul consonants including the lax/aspirated/tense distinction
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
가방이 있어요.
There is a bag.
코가 커요.
The nose is big.
빵을 사요.
I buy bread.
하늘이 파래요.
The sky is blue.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
한글 자음 — Hangul Consonants
Korean uses the Hangul writing system, invented in 1443. There are 14 basic consonants and 5 double (tense) consonants.
| Letter | Name | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | 기역 | g/k | 가방 (bag) |
| ㄴ | 니은 | n | 나라 (country) |
| ㄷ | 디귿 | d/t | 다리 (bridge) |
| ㄹ | 리을 | r/l | 라면 (ramen) |
| ㅁ | 미음 | m | 마을 (village) |
| ㅂ | 비읍 | b/p | 바다 (sea) |
| ㅅ | 시옷 | s | 사람 (person) |
| ㅇ | 이응 | silent / ng | 아이 (child) |
| ㅈ | 지읒 | j | 자리 (seat) |
| ㅊ | 치읓 | ch | 차 (tea/car) |
| ㅋ | 키읔 | k (aspirated) | 코 (nose) |
| ㅌ | 티읕 | t (aspirated) | 토끼 (rabbit) |
| ㅍ | 피읖 | p (aspirated) | 포도 (grape) |
| ㅎ | 히읗 | h | 하늘 (sky) |
Three-way distinction: Korean consonants come in sets of three — lax (ㄱ,ㄷ,ㅂ,ㅈ), aspirated (ㅋ,ㅌ,ㅍ,ㅊ), and tense/double (ㄲ,ㄸ,ㅃ,ㅉ,ㅆ). The tense consonants ㄲ,ㄸ,ㅃ,ㅉ,ㅆ are pronounced with a glottal tension — no puff of air, stiff throat.
ㅇ rule: At the start of a syllable ㅇ is silent (placeholder). At the end of a syllable (받침) it sounds like ng.
Common Error Patterns
Confused lax, aspirated, and tense consonants
Practice the three-way distinction: ㄱ (lax, soft g) vs ㅋ (aspirated, strong k) vs ㄲ (tense, stiff throat)
Misunderstood ㅇ as a consonant sound at syllable start
ㅇ is silent at the start of a syllable (placeholder) but sounds like 'ng' at the end (받침)
가방이 있어요.
There is a bag.
ㄱ (giyeok) sounds like 'g' at the start of a word: 가방 (gabang) = bag.
코가 커요.
The nose is big.
ㅋ (kieuk) is the aspirated version of ㄱ — pronounced with a strong puff of air: 코 (ko) = nose.
빵을 사요.
I buy bread.
ㅃ (ssang-bieup) is the tense/double version of ㅂ — no air puff, throat is stiff: 빵 (ppang) = bread.
하늘이 파래요.
The sky is blue.
ㅎ (hieut) sounds like English 'h': 하늘 (haneul) = sky. ㅇ at the start of 이 is silent — it's just a placeholder.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Put it into practice
Try a free exercise from the courseFrequently asked questions
- When is 한글 자음 used?
- Korean uses the Hangul writing system, invented in 1443. There are 14 basic consonants and 5 double (tense) consonants .
- How is 한글 자음 formed?
- Three-way distinction: Korean consonants come in sets of three — lax (ㄱ,ㄷ,ㅂ,ㅈ), aspirated (ㅋ,ㅌ,ㅍ,ㅊ), and tense/double (ㄲ,ㄸ,ㅃ,ㅉ,ㅆ). The tense consonants ㄲ,ㄸ,ㅃ,ㅉ,ㅆ are pronounced with a glottal tension — no puff of air, stiff throat. ㅇ rule: At the start of a syllable ㅇ is silent (placeholder). At the end of a syllable (받침) it sounds like ng .
- What are common mistakes with 한글 자음?
- Learners confuse the three-way lax/aspirated/tense distinction (ㄱ vs ㅋ vs ㄲ), which does not exist in most European languages. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English only distinguishes voiced/voiceless (b/p, d/t, g/k). The tense consonants (ㄲ,ㄸ,ㅃ) have no English equivalent — they require glottal tension without aspiration. 🇩🇪 German speakers: German has aspiration contrast (similar to Korean ㅋ vs ㄱ) but no tense consonants. German speakers often hear ㄲ as regular ㄱ. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian has no aspiration at all, so ㅋ/ㅌ/ㅍ sound like ㄱ/ㄷ/ㅂ. The ㄹ (flap r/l) also differs from Russian rolled р. 🇨🇿 Czech speakers: Czech lacks both aspiration and tense consonants.