KOREAN CONSONANTS (자음:JA EUM) - part1

After the previous brief post on hangeul, now let's discuss the consonants in a more intensive way. Consonants in Korean are divided into two groups; i.e. single and double consonants.

The first group is already shown on the previous post, but for the sake of recalling our memory, try to take a look at this.

1. ㄱ (g, k) is called giyeuk
2. ㄴ (n) is called nieun
3.  ㄷ (d, t) is called digeut
4. ㄹ (r, l) is called rieul
5. ㅁ (m) is called mieum
6. ㅂ (b, p) is called bieup
7. ㅅ (s, t) is called sieut
8. ㅇ (voiceless, ng) is called ee-yeung
9. ㅈ (j, t) is called jieut
10. ㅊ (ch, t) is called chieut
11. ㅋ (k) is called kieuk
12. ㅌ (t) is called tieut
13. ㅍ (p) is called pieup 
14. ㅎ (h, t) is called hieut

You might feel confused why some of these letters have two alternative pronunciations. Ok, let me explain simply by giving you some examples. These consonants must be spelled differently based on position.

1. ㄱ

initial : 강습 (gang-seup)

final   : 역 (yeok)

2. ㄷ

initial : 다음 (da-eum)

final : 잗 (jat)

3. ㄹ

initial : 라면 (ra-myon)

final : 거실(geo-si)

4. ㅂ

initial : 바람 (ba-ram)

final : 장갑 (jang-gap)

5. ㅇ

initial : 이름 (i-reum)

final : 노래방 (no-rae-bang)

6. ㅎ

initial : 한국 ( han-guk)

final : 밯 (bat)

7. ㅅ

initial : 손 (son)

final : 이것 (i-geot)

8. ㅈ

initial : 중국 (jung-guk)

final : 맞 (mat)

9. ㅊ

initial : 춥다 (chubda)

final : 몇(myeot)