Welcome back to Simply Korea 101!
In our previous lesson, we learned the 10 basic Korean vowels.
Today, we’re going to learn the 14 basic Korean consonants.
Once you know the basic vowels and consonants, you can start putting them together and reading Korean syllables.
Don’t worry if they look unfamiliar at first. We’ll learn them one by one.
The 14 Basic Korean Consonants
Here are the 14 basic Korean consonants:
ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ
Let’s learn them one by one.
① ㄱ — 기역
ㄱ
Korean name: 기역
Romanization: giyeok
Sound: g / k
The sound of ㄱ is somewhere between the English g and k, depending on where it appears in a word.
ㄱ + ㅏ = 가
가 — ga
② ㄴ — 니은
ㄴ
Korean name: 니은
Romanization: nieun
Sound: n
This is similar to the n sound in “no.”
ㄴ + ㅏ = 나
나 — na
③ ㄷ — 디귿
ㄷ
Korean name: 디귿
Romanization: digeut
Sound: d / t
The sound is similar to d or t, depending on its position.
ㄷ + ㅏ = 다
다 — da
④ ㄹ — 리을
ㄹ
Korean name: 리을
Romanization: rieul
Sound: r / l
This consonant is especially interesting for English speakers.
It can sound closer to r or l, depending on its position.
ㄹ + ㅏ = 라
라 — ra
⑤ ㅁ — 미음
ㅁ
Korean name: 미음
Romanization: mieum
Sound: m
This is similar to the m sound in “mom.”
ㅁ + ㅏ = 마
마 — ma
⑥ ㅂ — 비읍
ㅂ
Korean name: 비읍
Romanization: bieup
Sound: b / p
The sound is similar to b or p, depending on its position.
ㅂ + ㅏ = 바
바 — ba
⑦ ㅅ — 시옷
ㅅ
Korean name: 시옷
Romanization: siot
Sound: s
This is similar to the s sound in “see.”
ㅅ + ㅏ = 사
사 — sa
⑧ ㅇ — 이응
ㅇ
Korean name: 이응
Romanization: ieung
Sound: silent / ng
This consonant has two important roles.
At the beginning of a syllable, it is silent.
At the end of a syllable, it sounds like ng.
For example:
아 — a
앙 — ang
This is an important consonant to remember!
⑨ ㅈ — 지읒
ㅈ
Korean name: 지읒
Romanization: jieut
Sound: j
This is similar to the j sound in “jam.”
ㅈ + ㅏ = 자
자 — ja
⑩ ㅊ — 치읓
ㅊ
Korean name: 치읓
Romanization: chieut
Sound: ch
This is similar to the ch sound in “cheese.”
ㅊ + ㅏ = 차
차 — cha
⑪ ㅋ — 키읔
ㅋ
Korean name: 키읔
Romanization: kieuk
Sound: k
This is a stronger, more aspirated k sound.
ㅋ + ㅏ = 카
카 — ka
⑫ ㅌ — 티읕
ㅌ
Korean name: 티읕
Romanization: tieut
Sound: t
This is a stronger, more aspirated t sound.
ㅌ + ㅏ = 타
타 — ta
⑬ ㅍ — 피읖
ㅍ
Korean name: 피읖
Romanization: pieup
Sound: p
This is a stronger, more aspirated p sound.
ㅍ + ㅏ = 파
파 — pa
⑭ ㅎ — 히읗
ㅎ
Korean name: 히읗
Romanization: hieut
Sound: h
This is similar to the h sound in “hello.”
ㅎ + ㅏ = 하
하 — ha
🧩 Now Let’s Combine Consonants and Vowels
→ 이제 자음과 모음을 합쳐볼까요?
→ 어제 모음을 배웠죠.
Now let’s combine ㄱ with different vowels.
ㄱ + ㅏ = 가
ga
ㄱ + ㅑ = 갸
gya
ㄱ + ㅓ = 거
geo
ㄱ + ㅕ = 겨
gyeo
ㄱ + ㅗ = 고
go
ㄱ + ㅛ = 교
gyo
ㄱ + ㅜ = 구
gu
ㄱ + ㅠ = 규
gyu
ㄱ + ㅡ = 그
geu
ㄱ + ㅣ = 기
gi
You can do the same thing with other consonants!
🗣️ Reading Practice
→ 읽기 연습
Try reading these syllables aloud.
→ 다음 음절을 소리 내어 읽어보세요.
가 — ga
나 — na
다 — da
라 — ra
마 — ma
바 — ba
사 — sa
아 — a
자 — ja
차 — cha
카 — ka
타 — ta
파 — pa
하 — ha
Great job!
You can already read many Korean syllables.
⭐ One Special Consonant: ㅇ
Let’s take one more look at ㅇ.
Remember:
ㅇ + ㅏ = 아
→ At the beginning, ㅇ is silent.
But:
앙
→ At the end, ㅇ sounds like ng.
This is one of the most important things to remember about ㅇ.
🎯 Today’s Korean Challenge
→ 오늘의 한국어 도전
Can you read these?
가 나 다 라 마
바 사 자 차 카
타 파 하
Try reading them without looking at the Romanization.
If you can read them, congratulations!
You’ve now learned the 10 basic Korean vowels and 14 basic Korean consonants.
🌸 You Can Now Start Reading Korean
→ 이제 한국어 읽기를 시작할 수 있어요.
→ 모든 것을 한꺼번에 외울 필요는 없어요.
→ 매일 조금씩 연습하면 한글이 점점 익숙해질 거예요.
→ 그리고 이것은 시작에 불과해요.
What’s Next?
Our Hangul basics are almost complete!
After this introduction to Hangul, Simply Korea 101 will begin its 101-part journey through Korean language, food, culture, lifestyle, and everyday life in Korea.
See you in Simply Korea 101!
— Ayla
Let’s discover Korea, one word, one dish, and one story at a time.