Day 2: Hangul Mastery 1
Consonants
안녕하세요! ( ) Welcome back to Day 2 of your 30-day Korean learning journey. Today, we're zeroing in on one half of Hangul's core building blocks—consonants. Understanding them will not only boost your reading and writing skills but also make your K-pop life even more exciting. Let's get started!
The Basic 14
As a quick refresher, there are 14 basic consonants in Hangul. Here they are along with their Romanized representations and approximate pronunciations:
- ㄱ (g/k) (기역): Soft 'g' as in 'go', or 'k' as in 'king'
- ㄴ (n) (니은): 'n' as in 'note'
- ㄷ (d/t) (디귿): Soft 'd' as in 'dog', or 't' as in 'top'
- ㄹ (r/l) (리을): Rolling 'r' as in Spanish 'rojo', or 'l' as in 'love'
- ㅁ (m) (미음): 'm' as in 'mouse'
- ㅂ (b/p) (비읍): Soft 'b' as in 'bat', or 'p' as in 'pot'
- ㅅ (s) (시옷): 's' as in 'snake'
- ㅇ (ng) (이응): 'ng' as in 'long' (also silent when at the beginning of a syllable)
- ㅈ (j) (지읒): 'j' as in 'jump'
- ㅊ (ch) (치읓): 'ch' as in 'chocolate'
- ㅋ (k) (키엌): Hard 'k' as in 'kite'
- ㅌ (t) (티읕): Hard 't' as in 'table'
- ㅍ (p) (피읖): Hard 'p' as in 'pineapple'
- ㅎ (h) (히읗): 'h' as in 'hat'
K-pop Tip: Some K-pop groups use these consonants creatively in their names. For example, BTS is written as 방탄소년단 (Bangtan Sonyeondan) , where ㅂ (b) (비읍) stands for 'Bangtan'.
Double Consonants
In Korean, we have double consonants, which sound tenser and are said more quickly than their single counterparts. For example, ㄱ (g/k) can become ㄲ (kk), and it would be tenser.
- ㄲ (kk) (쌍기역)
- ㄸ (tt) (쌍디귿)
- ㅃ (pp) (쌍비읍)
- ㅆ (ss) (쌍시옷)
- ㅉ (jj) (쌍지읒)
K-pop Tip: The song of Stray Kids(스트레이 키즈) "갑자기 분위기 싸해질 필요 없잖아요(Awkward Silence)" ( ) includes a double consonant (ㅆ) .
Aspirated Consonants
These are similar to the basic consonants but have a breathy quality to them, almost as if you're sighing:
- ㅋ (k, as in 'kite')
- ㅌ (t, as in 'table')
- ㅍ (p, as in 'pool')
- ㅊ (ch, as in 'chat')
K-pop Tip: The popular girl group TWICE has a name that starts with an aspirated consonant in Korean: 트와이스 (Teu-wa-i-seu) .
Quick Practice
Let's do some quick practice by identifying the consonants in some popular K-pop terms:
- 비티에스 (BTS): ㅂ (b) - ㅌ (t) - ㅅ (s)
- 엑소 (EXO): ㅇ (silent) - ㅅ (s) - ㅇ (ng)
- 블랙핑크 (BLACKPINK): ㅂ (b) - ㄹ (r/l) - ㅍ (p) - ㅋ (k)
Vowels
안녕하세요! Ready for the second half of today's lesson? We're about to dig into the other equally important building blocks of the Korean language: vowels.
The Basic 10
Hangul has 10 basic vowels. Here they are, along with their Romanized representations:
- ㅏ (a): 'a' as in 'father'
- ㅑ (ya): 'ya' as in 'yard'
- ㅓ (eo): 'aw' as in 'saw'
- ㅕ (yeo): 'yaw' as in 'yawn'
- ㅗ (o): 'o' as in 'go'
- ㅛ (yo): 'yo' as in 'yoga'
- ㅜ (u): 'oo' as in 'food'
- ㅠ (yu): 'yoo' as in 'you'
- ㅡ (eu): a unique sound not found in English, similar to 'eu' in 'deux' in French
- ㅣ (i): 'ee' as in 'see'
K-pop Tip: The famous phrase "사랑해요" (Saranghaeyo) meaning 'I love you', contains 3 different vowels: ㅏ, ㅐ, and ㅗ. It's often seen on fan signs and heard in fan chants.
Diphthongs (Complex Vowels)
Some vowels are a combination of basic ones, creating a new sound:
- ㅒ (yae): 'yay' as in 'yay'
- ㅖ (ye): 'yeh' as in 'yet'
- ㅘ (wa): 'wa' as in 'watt'
- ㅙ (wae): 'wae' as in 'way'
- ㅚ (we): 'we' as in 'we'
- ㅝ (wo): 'wo' as in 'word'
K-pop Tip: Diphthongs often appear in idol names and song titles, making them crucial to know for any dedicated fan!
Quick Practice
Let's try recognizing the vowels in some popular K-pop terms:
- 아이돌 (Idol): ㅏ (a) - ㅣ (i) - ㅗ (o)
- 레드벨벳 (Red Velvet): ㅔ (e) - ㅡ (eu) - ㅔ (e)
- 스트레이키즈 (Stray Kids): ㅡ (eu) - ㅐ (ae) - ㅣ (i) - ㅡ (eu)
Flip the cards
14 basic consonants
Double Consonants
Aspirated Consonants
10 basic vowels
Diphthongs (Complex Vowels)
This concludes today's lesson on Hangul consonants and vowels. By now, you should have a solid understanding of these basic elements, paving the way for you to read K-pop-related content in Korean! Come back tomorrow for Day 3, where we'll discuss syllable blocks and forming words in Hangul.
Until then, keep practicing and 화이팅!