Basic Consonants II: ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅎ
Learn ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅎ, the silent and 'ng' sides of ㅇ, and read everyday words such as 바다, 사자, 바지 and 하나.
Ms. Hana · Hangeul letters & pronunciationWhat you will learn in this lesson
- Read and write ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅎ and know their Korean names
- Know that ㅇ is silent at the start of a block and 'ng' at the end
- Say ㅅ before ㅣ with a soft 'sh'-like sound
- Build syllables with the ten consonants learned so far
- Read words such as 바다, 사자, 바지, 하나 and 아버지
Welcome back! Today we learn five more consonants. After this lesson, you can read a lot of Korean words. Let's go slowly together.
Five more consonants
Today's letters are ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅎ. You already met ㅇ as the silent placeholder, so only four are truly new.
Like last time, some shapes give hints. ㅂ is made with the lips, like ㅁ, and it even looks like ㅁ with two small 'ears' on top. ㅅ looks like a tooth, and the sound is made near the teeth. ㅈ is ㅅ with a line on top. ㅎ is a circle with a little hat, made in the throat.
Here are the letter cards. Remember to say each name out loud: 비읍, 시옷, 이응, 지읒, 히읗.
Close your lips, then open them gently with only a little air. Four strokes: left line, right line, middle line, bottom line.
The tip of your tongue is close to the back of your upper teeth. Two strokes: the left slanting line first, then the right line starting from its middle.
One circle, drawn counterclockwise from the top. At the start it only holds a place for the vowel.
The front of your tongue touches just behind the ridge of your upper teeth. Release gently, with little air. Two strokes: the top line turning into a slant, then the right slant.
Just breathe out from the throat. Three strokes: the small top line, the long horizontal line, then the circle.
ㅇ: silent at the top, 'ng' at the bottom
ㅇ is the only letter with two very different jobs.
At the start of a block, ㅇ is silent. 아 is just 'a', 우 is just 'u'. Every block that seems to start with a vowel really starts with this silent ㅇ.
At the bottom of a block, as batchim, ㅇ sounds like 'ng' in 'sing'. For example: 공 (ball), 방 (room), 강 (river). You will practice batchim in a later lesson, but now you know the two faces of ㅇ.
So in a word like 이응 (the name of ㅇ itself), the first ㅇ at the top of 이 is silent, the ㅇ at the top of 응 is silent too, and the ㅇ at the bottom of 응 says 'ng'.
ㅅ before ㅣ
Normally ㅅ is a clear 's'. But when it comes before ㅣ or the y-vowels (ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ), the tongue moves a little and the sound becomes softer, close to 'sh' in 'she'. So 시 sounds close to 'shee', not 'see'.
This happens naturally when you say ㅅ and ㅣ together, so do not force it. Just let your tongue relax. Compare 사 (sa) and 시 (close to 'shi'). Also note: Korean ㅅ at the start of a word is said with a soft breath, not with a hiss.
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Soft sounds between vowels
You learned that ㄱ and ㄷ become softer (voiced) between vowels. ㅂ and ㅈ do the same.
ㅂ is a light 'p' at the start of a word and close to 'b' between vowels: in 아버지 (father), the ㅂ sounds like b, and the ㅈ sounds like j.
ㅈ is a light 'ch' at the start of a word and close to 'j' between vowels: in 바지 (pants), the ㅈ sounds like j.
ㅎ is a clear 'h' at the start of a word, as in 하나 (one). Between vowels, in fast natural speech, ㅎ often becomes very weak. Beginners can simply say a soft 'h'; it will be understood.
Syllable table: consonant × vowel
| ㅏ | ㅓ | ㅗ | ㅜ | ㅡ | ㅣ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ㅂ | 바 | 버 | 보 | 부 | 브 | 비 |
| ㅅ | 사 | 서 | 소 | 수 | 스 | 시 |
| ㅇ | 아 | 어 | 오 | 우 | 으 | 이 |
| ㅈ | 자 | 저 | 조 | 주 | 즈 | 지 |
| ㅎ | 하 | 허 | 호 | 후 | 흐 | 히 |
Read across each row, then down each column. In the ㅇ row, you only hear the vowel.
The ten consonants you know, with ㅏ
| Letter | Name | With ㅏ |
|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | 기역 | 가 |
| ㄴ | 니은 | 나 |
| ㄷ | 디귿 | 다 |
| ㄹ | 리을 | 라 |
| ㅁ | 미음 | 마 |
| ㅂ | 비읍 | 바 |
| ㅅ | 시옷 | 사 |
| ㅇ | 이응 | 아 |
| ㅈ | 지읒 | 자 |
| ㅎ | 히읗 | 하 |
Korean children learn the consonants in this order: 가 나 다 라 마 바 사 아 자 차 카 타 파 하. You will learn 차 카 타 파 in the next lesson.
Now for real words. You know so many letters now that the list is long. Read slowly, and enjoy how much you can understand.
Real words
- 바다 bada sea
- 바지 baji pants, trousers ㅈ between vowels sounds close to j.
- 사자 saja lion
- 하나 hana one (native Korean number)
- 아버지 abeoji father ㅂ sounds like b, ㅈ like j.
- 비누 binu soap
- 모자 moja hat, cap
- 지도 jido map
- 호수 hosu lake
- 두부 dubu tofu
- 부모 bumo parents
- 소리 sori sound, voice
- 시소 siso seesaw 시 has the soft sh-like ㅅ; 소 has a plain s.
- 버스 beoseu bus
- 바나나 banana banana
- 허리 heori waist; lower back
- 아주 aju very
- 사이다 saida lemon-lime soda A loanword from 'cider', but in Korea it means a clear fizzy drink.
Listen for the difference
- 사 sa plain s Tongue tip near the teeth, soft breath.
- 시 si s before ㅣ, close to 'sh' The tongue relaxes and the sound becomes softer.
- 하마 hama hippo Starts with a clear h.
- 아마 ama maybe, probably Starts with the silent ㅇ: just the vowel.
- 자다 jada to sleep Starts with ㅈ, a light ch.
- 사다 sada to buy Starts with ㅅ, an s.
Reading drill
| Row | Read aloud |
|---|---|
| 1 | 바 사 아 자 하 |
| 2 | 비 시 이 지 히 |
| 3 | 가 나 다 라 마 바 사 아 자 하 |
| 4 | 바다 바지 사자 하나 모자 |
| 5 | 아버지 어머니 바나나 사이다 |
Row 3 follows the traditional order. In the full list, 차 카 타 파 come between 자 and 하.
Check quiz
Q1. How do you read ㅇ at the start of a block?
Q2. Which word means 'sea'?
Q3. What is the Korean name of ㅈ?
Q4. How does ㅅ sound in 시?
Q5. In 아버지, how does ㅂ sound?
Q6. Which word means 'one'?
You now know ten consonants and all ten basic vowels. That is a strong foundation! Next we will learn the strong consonants with a puff of air. Rest well, and well done.
Key points
- ㅂ 비읍, ㅅ 시옷, ㅇ 이응, ㅈ 지읒, ㅎ 히읗.
- ㅇ is silent at the start of a block and 'ng' at the bottom.
- ㅂ and ㅈ are light p and ch at the start, and close to b and j between vowels.
- ㅅ sounds softer, close to 'sh', before ㅣ and the y-vowels.
- The traditional consonant order is ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ; ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ come next.
Recommended official free resources
- Korean Basic Dictionary (11 languages) — National Institute of Korean Language
- Nuri-Sejong Hakdang (free e-textbooks) — King Sejong Institute Foundation
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