Tense Consonants: ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ
Learn the tense consonants ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ, and hear the three-way difference in sets like 가/카/까 and 자다/차다/짜다.
Ms. Hana · Hangeul letters & pronunciationWhat you will learn in this lesson
- Read and write ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ and know their names
- Make a tense consonant: tight, with no puff of air
- Tell plain, aspirated and tense consonants apart
- Read words such as 아빠, 오빠, 토끼, 비싸요 and 가짜
Welcome back. Today's sounds are new for most learners, so please be kind to yourself. Nobody gets them perfect on the first day. Take your time.
Double letters, tight sounds
The tense consonants look easy: they are simply a basic consonant written twice.
ㄱ → ㄲ, ㄷ → ㄸ, ㅂ → ㅃ, ㅅ → ㅆ, ㅈ → ㅉ
Their names are easy too. Put 쌍 (meaning 'pair' or 'double') in front of the basic name: 쌍기역, 쌍디귿, 쌍비읍, 쌍시옷, 쌍지읒.
But the sound is not 'two k's' or a long k. A tense consonant is said with your mouth and throat tight, and with no puff of air. It sounds sharp and clean. Many learners say it sounds 'stronger' than the plain one, but the strength comes from tension, not from air.
Press the back of your tongue firmly against the roof of your mouth, then release without a breath. Write two ㄱ shapes side by side; the left one is a little narrower.
Press your tongue tip firmly behind your upper teeth, then release cleanly. Write two ㄷ shapes side by side.
Press your lips together firmly, then open them with no breath. Write two narrow ㅂ shapes side by side.
Make a narrow, tense 's' with the tongue tip close to the teeth. Write two ㅅ shapes side by side; the left one is a little smaller.
Press the front of your tongue firmly, then release with no breath. Write two ㅈ shapes side by side.
How to make a tense sound
Here is a simple method.
1. Say the English word 'sky' slowly. Notice the k after s: it has almost no air. That k is close to Korean ㄲ. The same is true for the p in 'spy' (close to ㅃ) and the t in 'stay' (close to ㄸ).
2. Now say 'sky' without the s: just '-ky'. Keep the k tight and airless. That is very close to 끼.
3. Another way: imagine you are about to lift something heavy. Your throat tightens a little. Keep that tight feeling and say 까. Do not let air escape.
Use the paper test again. For 카 the paper moves. For 까 the paper should not move. Also, in Seoul speech the vowel after a tense consonant usually has a higher pitch, just like after aspirated consonants.
Three kinds of consonants
| Plain (light) | Aspirated (air) | Tense (tight) | Made with |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ 가 | ㅋ 카 | ㄲ 까 | Back of the tongue |
| ㄷ 다 | ㅌ 타 | ㄸ 따 | Tongue tip |
| ㅂ 바 | ㅍ 파 | ㅃ 빠 | Lips |
| ㅈ 자 | ㅊ 차 | ㅉ 짜 | Front of the tongue |
| ㅅ 사 | (none) | ㅆ 싸 | Tongue tip near the teeth |
ㅅ has only two forms: plain ㅅ and tense ㅆ. There is no aspirated ㅅ.
Ad
Syllable table: tense consonant × vowel
| ㅏ | ㅓ | ㅗ | ㅜ | ㅡ | ㅣ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ㄲ | 까 | 꺼 | 꼬 | 꾸 | 끄 | 끼 |
| ㄸ | 따 | 떠 | 또 | 뚜 | 뜨 | 띠 |
| ㅃ | 빠 | 뻐 | 뽀 | 뿌 | 쁘 | 삐 |
| ㅆ | 싸 | 써 | 쏘 | 쑤 | 쓰 | 씨 |
| ㅉ | 짜 | 쩌 | 쪼 | 쭈 | 쯔 | 찌 |
Read each row with a tight throat and no puff of air.
Now let's put all three kinds side by side. Listen carefully, go slowly, and try the paper test for each one.
Plain, aspirated, tense
- 자다 jada to sleep Plain ㅈ: light, a little air.
- 차다 chada to kick; to be cold Aspirated ㅊ: a strong puff of air.
- 짜다 jjada to be salty Tense ㅉ: tight, no air.
- 달 dal moon Plain ㄷ. The ㄹ at the bottom is an 'l'.
- 탈 tal mask Aspirated ㅌ.
- 딸 ttal daughter Tense ㄸ.
- 비다 bida to be empty Plain ㅂ.
- 피다 pida to bloom (flowers) Aspirated ㅍ.
- 삐다 ppida to sprain (an ankle or wrist) Tense ㅃ.
- 사다 sada to buy Plain ㅅ.
- 싸다 ssada to be cheap Tense ㅆ. 'Buy' and 'cheap' differ only by tension!
Tense consonants stay tense
Like aspirated consonants, tense consonants do not soften between vowels. In 아빠 (dad), the ㅃ is tight and clean, not a soft b. In 토끼 (rabbit), the ㄲ is tight, not a soft g.
This is why the middle of a word is a good place to practice. Compare 아버지 (father, with a soft b sound) and 아빠 (dad, with a tight ㅃ). The difference is easy to hear there.
One more note on ㅆ: before ㅣ it becomes a tight sound close to 'sh', just as plain ㅅ does. So 씨 sounds close to a sharp 'shee'. You hear it often in 아저씨 (mister) and after people's names, like 민지 씨.
Real words
- 아빠 appa dad Compare with 아버지 (father).
- 오빠 oppa older brother (said by a female)
- 토끼 tokki rabbit
- 코끼리 kokkiri elephant Aspirated ㅋ, then tense ㄲ.
- 꼬리 kkori tail
- 까치 kkachi magpie
- 아까 akka a little while ago
- 가짜 gajja fake
- 따로 ttaro separately
- 이따가 ittaga a little later
- 뼈 ppyeo bone
- 뿌리 ppuri root (of a plant)
- 허리띠 heoritti belt
- 아저씨 ajeossi mister (a middle-aged man)
- 쓰다 sseuda to write; to use; to be bitter
- 비싸요 bissayo It's expensive.
- 바빠요 bappayo I'm busy.
- 기뻐요 gippeoyo I'm glad.
Reading drill
| Row | Read aloud |
|---|---|
| 1 | 가 카 까 / 다 타 따 / 바 파 빠 |
| 2 | 자 차 짜 / 사 싸 |
| 3 | 자다 차다 짜다 / 사다 싸다 |
| 4 | 아버지 아빠 / 오빠 토끼 꼬리 |
| 5 | 비싸요 바빠요 기뻐요 |
In rows 1 and 2, use the paper test: little air, a lot of air, no air.
Check quiz
Q1. How do you make a tense consonant like ㄲ?
Q2. What is the name of ㅆ?
Q3. Which word means 'to be salty'?
Q4. Which word means 'daughter'?
Q5. Which consonant has NO aspirated form?
Q6. 사다 means 'to buy'. What does 싸다 mean?
Q7. In the paper test, what happens when you say 까?
You have now met every consonant in Hangul. That is a big day! Tense sounds take time, so practice a little every day, and listen to Korean as much as you can. You are doing very well.
Key points
- ㄲ 쌍기역, ㄸ 쌍디귿, ㅃ 쌍비읍, ㅆ 쌍시옷, ㅉ 쌍지읒.
- Tense consonants are tight with no puff of air; aspirated ones have a strong puff.
- Korean has three-way sets: 가/카/까, 다/타/따, 바/파/빠, 자/차/짜, and two-way 사/싸.
- Tense consonants stay tight between vowels: 아빠, 토끼, 비싸요.
- Vowels after tense and aspirated consonants are usually said with a slightly higher pitch.
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