Beginner pronunciation
Three things cause most beginner trouble. Listen to each contrast side by side.
Plain, aspirated, tense
English has two kinds of stop consonants; Korean has three. The plain one is soft with a little breath, the aspirated one has a strong puff of air, and the tense one is tight with no breath at all.
- 가ga · plain
- 카ka · aspirated
- 까kka · tense
- 다da · plain
- 타ta · aspirated
- 따tta · tense
- 바ba · plain
- 파pa · aspirated
- 빠ppa · tense
- 자ja · plain
- 차cha · aspirated
- 짜jja · tense
Vowels that English lacks
어 is open and unrounded. 으 is said with the lips spread, as if smiling with your teeth together. Neither matches an English vowel exactly, so trust your ears.
- 어eo
- 오o
- 으eu
- 우u
Final consonants are not released
A consonant at the bottom of a block is stopped short: the mouth closes and no air comes out afterward. 밥 ends with the lips shut.
- 밥bap · cooked rice; a meal
- 책chaek · book
- 옷ot · clothes
- 물mul · water
Roman letters cannot show these differences reliably. Use the audio.