Basic Consonants I: ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ
Learn the consonants ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ, build syllables with all ten vowels, and read real words like 나무, 고기 and 머리.
Ms. Hana · Hangeul letters & pronunciationWhat you will learn in this lesson
- Read and write ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ and know their Korean names
- Build syllables by joining these consonants with vowels
- Understand why ㄱ and ㄷ sound softer between vowels
- Say ㄹ as a quick flap between vowels
- Read words such as 나무, 고기, 다리, 머리 and 우리
Hello! Now that you know the vowels, it is time for consonants. Today we learn five of them. With these five, you can already read many real Korean words.
Consonant shapes follow the mouth
Several Hangul consonants were designed to show how your mouth makes the sound. For example, ㄱ looks like the back of the tongue rising up to touch the soft roof of the mouth. ㄴ looks like the tip of the tongue touching the ridge behind the upper teeth. ㅁ is a closed square, like closed lips.
And look at ㄷ: it is ㄴ with one more line on top. Both are made with the tip of the tongue in the same place. This is a helpful way to remember the letters: similar shapes often mean similar mouth positions.
Each consonant also has a Korean name, such as 기역 or 니은. Korean people use these names when they spell words out loud, so it is good to learn them.
The back of your tongue touches the soft back part of the roof of your mouth. Do not push a strong puff of air. One stroke: right, then down.
The tip of your tongue touches the ridge behind your upper teeth. One stroke: down, then right.
Same tongue position as ㄴ, but stop the air for a moment. Two strokes: the top line first, then an ㄴ shape below it.
Tap the tip of your tongue once, very lightly, on the ridge behind your upper teeth. Three strokes: a ㄱ shape, the middle line, then an ㄴ shape at the bottom.
Close your lips, then open them. Three strokes: the left line down, then the top and right side in one stroke, then the bottom line.
Soft at the start, softer in the middle
English speakers often hear Korean ㄱ as 'k' at the beginning of a word and 'g' in the middle. Both are correct ears!
At the start of a word, ㄱ is a light 'k' with only a little air. It is not as strong as the 'k' in English 'kite', and not as voiced as the 'g' in 'go'. It is somewhere in between.
Between two vowels, ㄱ becomes voiced, so it sounds like a soft 'g'. In 고기 (meat), the first ㄱ is a light 'k' and the second sounds like 'g'.
ㄷ works the same way: a light 't' at the start, and a soft 'd' between vowels. Listen for this in 구두 (dress shoes) and 어디 (where). Do not worry too much about it. If you just say the letter naturally, your mouth will do it automatically.
The special letter ㄹ
ㄹ has two main sounds depending on its position.
Between two vowels, ㄹ is a very quick tap of the tongue, called a flap. It is like the 'tt' in the American way of saying 'butter' or 'water'. Listen to 나라 (country), 머리 (head) and 우리 (we).
At the end of a syllable (as batchim), ㄹ is an 'l' sound, like the 'l' in 'feel'. You will see this in words like 달 (moon), which we will practice later.
At the start of a word, ㄹ is rare in native Korean words. It appears mostly in words borrowed from other languages, like 라디오 (radio). There it is said lightly, like a quick tap or a light 'l'. Please do not roll it like a Spanish 'rr', and do not use the English 'r' with curled tongue.
Ad
Syllable table: consonant × vowel
| ㅏ | ㅓ | ㅗ | ㅜ | ㅡ | ㅣ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | 가 | 거 | 고 | 구 | 그 | 기 |
| ㄴ | 나 | 너 | 노 | 누 | 느 | 니 |
| ㄷ | 다 | 더 | 도 | 두 | 드 | 디 |
| ㄹ | 라 | 러 | 로 | 루 | 르 | 리 |
| ㅁ | 마 | 머 | 모 | 무 | 므 | 미 |
Read each row from left to right, then each column from top to bottom.
With the y-vowels
| ㅑ | ㅕ | ㅛ | ㅠ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | 갸 | 겨 | 교 | 규 |
| ㄴ | 냐 | 녀 | 뇨 | 뉴 |
| ㄷ | 댜 | 뎌 | 됴 | 듀 |
| ㄹ | 랴 | 려 | 료 | 류 |
| ㅁ | 먀 | 며 | 묘 | 뮤 |
Some of these syllables are rare in real words, but reading them is great practice.
Now let's read real words. Say each block clearly, one beat per block. Take your time.
Real words
- 나무 namu tree; wood
- 고기 gogi meat First ㄱ is a light k, the second is a soft g.
- 나라 nara country ㄹ is a quick tap between the two ㅏ sounds.
- 다리 dari leg; bridge
- 머리 meori head; hair
- 우리 uri we, us, our
- 누나 nuna older sister (said by a male)
- 어머니 eomeoni mother
- 구두 gudu dress shoes The second ㄷ sounds like a soft d.
- 모기 mogi mosquito
- 오리 ori duck
- 나이 nai age
- 도로 doro road
- 거리 geori street; distance
- 라디오 radio radio
- 고구마 goguma sweet potato
- 이마 ima forehead
- 너 neo you (casual, to a friend or a child)
Small differences, new words
- 거기 geogi there ㅓ: relaxed lips.
- 고기 gogi meat ㅗ: round lips.
- 너 neo you (casual) Relaxed lips.
- 노 no oar (of a boat) Round lips.
- 나라 nara country Starts with ㄴ (n).
- 다리 dari leg; bridge Starts with ㄷ (light t). Your tongue stops the air briefly.
- 머리 meori head ㅓ after ㅁ: half-open mouth, relaxed lips.
- 마리 mari counting word for animals ㅏ after ㅁ: open your mouth wider.
Reading drill
| Row | Read aloud |
|---|---|
| 1 | 가 나 다 라 마 |
| 2 | 고 노 도 로 모 |
| 3 | 거 너 더 러 머 |
| 4 | 나무 고기 다리 머리 우리 |
| 5 | 어머니 고구마 라디오 도로 |
Rows 1 to 3 practice one vowel with five consonants. Rows 4 and 5 are real words.
Check quiz
Q1. What is the Korean name of ㄱ?
Q2. How does ㄹ sound in 나라?
Q3. Which word means 'tree'?
Q4. In 고기, the second ㄱ sounds…
Q5. Which block is ㅁ + ㅜ?
Q6. How is ㄷ related to ㄴ?
Q7. Which word means 'we'?
You can now read words like 나무 and 어머니. That is wonderful. Next time we will learn five more consonants, including the one that makes the word for 'sea'. See you soon.
Key points
- ㄱ 기역, ㄴ 니은, ㄷ 디귿, ㄹ 리을, ㅁ 미음.
- ㄱ and ㄷ are light k and t at the start of a word, and soft g and d between vowels.
- ㄹ is a quick tongue tap between vowels and an 'l' at the end of a syllable.
- Several consonant shapes show the mouth position: ㄴ and ㄷ share the tongue tip; ㅁ is closed lips.
- Useful words: 나무 (tree), 고기 (meat), 머리 (head), 우리 (we), 어머니 (mother).
Recommended official free resources
- Korean Spelling & Standard Pronunciation rules — National Institute of Korean Language
- Korean Basic Dictionary (11 languages) — National Institute of Korean Language
Ad