Basic Consonants · 기본 자음

3. Reading practice

Practice 1 — Consonant plus ㅏ

Read each syllable aloud. The romanization shows the sound, and the arrow shows how it is said.

가  나  다  라
ga  na  da  ra
→ gah, nah, dah, and a quick tap rah

마  바  사  자  하
ma  ba  sa  ja  ha
→ mah, bah, sah, jah, hah

Notice that each consonant keeps its sound while the vowel stays the same. That is the whole system.

Practice 2 — First words

These words use only plain consonants. Say each syllable evenly, with no stress.

나라
na-ra
→ country

바다
ba-da
→ sea

모자
mo-ja
→ hat

고기
go-gi
→ meat

하나
ha-na
→ one

Look at 고기. Both ㄱ are written the same, and both sound like a soft g. Plain sounds stay soft in the middle of a word.

Practice 3 — Words with strong sounds

Now add the breathy and tense letters. Give ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ a clear puff and keep the tense sounds tight.

커피
keo-pi
→ coffee

토마토
to-ma-to
→ tomato

아빠
a-ppa
→ dad

오빠
o-ppa
→ older brother, said by a woman

사과
sa-gwa
→ apple, also apology

The word 사과 has the vowel ㅘ, which you meet in lesson 5. For now just read it as "gwa". Notice that 아빠 and 오빠 have the tense ㅃ, and your throat should feel tight there.

Practice 4 — Plain, aspirated, tense

Read each row slowly and hear the difference. The last five words show how one small sound changes the meaning.

가  카  까
ga  ka  kka
→ plain, breathy, tense

자다
ja-da
→ to sleep

차다
cha-da
→ to be cold

짜다
jja-da
→ to be salty

사다
sa-da
→ to buy

싸다
ssa-da
→ to be cheap

Native speakers hear this contrast clearly. It is worth practicing from the start.