The 19 Korean consonants
Korean has 19 consonant letters — 14 basic ones and 5 tense doubles. Each has a name that contains the letter twice, once at the start and once at the end, because a Korean consonant can do both jobs and often sounds different in each position.
| Letter | Name | Sound | Start / end | Closest in English | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | giyeok | /k/, [ɡ] between voiced sounds | g / k | between the g in go and the k in skin | |
| ㄲ | ssanggiyeok | /k͈/ | kk / k | a tense, unaspirated k — like the k in sky, said with a tight throat | |
| ㄴ | nieun | /n/ | n / n | the n in no | |
| ㄷ | digeut | /t/, [d] between voiced sounds | d / t | between the d in do and the t in stop | |
| ㄸ | ssangdigeut | /t͈/ | tt / — | a tense, unaspirated t — like the t in sty | |
| ㄹ | rieul | /ɾ/ before a vowel, [l] in final position | r / l | the tapped r of Spanish pero when a vowel follows; an l at the end of a syllable | |
| ㅁ | mieum | /m/ | m / m | the m in me | |
| ㅂ | bieup | /p/, [b] between voiced sounds | b / p | between the b in boy and the p in spin | |
| ㅃ | ssangbieup | /p͈/ | pp / — | a tense, unaspirated p — like the p in spy | |
| ㅅ | siot | /s/, [ɕ] before i and y-vowels | s / t | the s in sea; closer to sh before ㅣ and ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ | |
| ㅆ | ssangsiot | /s͈/ | ss / t | a tense, sharper s — the hiss is longer and the throat tighter | |
| ㅇ | ieung | silent before a vowel, /ŋ/ in final position | — / ng | no sound at the start of a syllable; the ng in sing at the end | |
| ㅈ | jieut | /tɕ/, [dʑ] between voiced sounds | j / t | between the j in jar and the ch in itch | |
| ㅉ | ssangjieut | /t͈ɕ/ | jj / — | a tense, unaspirated j — sharp and clipped | |
| ㅊ | chieut | /tɕʰ/ | ch / t | the ch in cheese, with a strong puff of air | |
| ㅋ | kieuk | /kʰ/ | k / k | the k in kite, with a strong puff of air | |
| ㅌ | tieut | /tʰ/ | t / t | the t in top, with a strong puff of air | |
| ㅍ | pieup | /pʰ/ | p / p | the p in pot, with a strong puff of air | |
| ㅎ | hieut | /h/ | h / t | the h in hat |
Questions people ask
- How many consonants does Korean have? +
- 19. Fourteen are basic letters and five are tense doubles — ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ — written by doubling a basic letter.
- Why do consonant names repeat the letter twice? +
- Because the name shows both of its jobs. 기역 starts with ㄱ and ends with ㄱ, so the name itself tells you the letter can open a syllable and close one.
- Why does a Korean consonant sound different at the end of a syllable? +
- Article 9 of Standard Korean Pronunciation collapses final consonants into a small set of representative sounds. ㅅ is an s at the start of 사 but a t at the end of 옷.
- What is the difference between ㄱ, ㅋ and ㄲ? +
- How much air you push out. ㄱ is plain, ㅋ adds a strong puff, and ㄲ is tense with almost no air. The same three-way split runs through ㄷ ㅌ ㄸ, ㅂ ㅍ ㅃ and ㅈ ㅊ ㅉ.