Unit 18 · Soup, clothes and home · Read

Soup, clothes and home

Close a final stop without adding a vowel.

Read the examples

Tap a card and listen. Try saying it too.

Final consonants have seven basic ending sounds: k, n, t, l, m, p and ng. Several spellings share the same ending sound.

Words to read

soup

국

soupguk
clothes

옷

clothesot
home

집

homejip
bread

빵

breadppang
Reading tips

Final consonants have seven basic ending sounds: k, n, t, l, m, p and ng. Several spellings share the same ending sound.

국 ends with k, 옷 ends with t even though its ending is spelled ㅅ, and 집 ends with p. Stop without a puff or another vowel. 빵 begins with tense ㅃ and ends with ng.

Reading practice

Hear the whole word

Listen. Find its printed word.

Read without a sound hint

Read the words. Match their pictures.

Sound to spelling

Listen. Choose the word you studied.

Spelling to sound

Read the word. Choose its sound.

옷

Sound to spelling

Listen. Choose the word you studied.

Spelling to sound

Read the word. Choose its sound.

빵

How is the ending pronounced here?

옷

Write the word

Look and listen. Write the word with consonants and vowels.

soup

Write the word

Look and listen. Write the word with consonants and vowels.

clothes

Write the word

Look and listen. Write the word with consonants and vowels.

home

Write the word

Look and listen. Write the word with consonants and vowels.

bread

Finish practice to save this unit.

You can read and write this

Close a final stop without adding a vowel.

Next unit
soup

국

soup
clothes

옷

clothes
home

집

home
bread

빵

bread
Use a Korean keyboard

The on-screen keys use consonant and vowel elements and join them into ordinary written words.

For your own typing, enable a Korean two-set keyboard on your device. Enter the start, vowel and optional final consonant in order.

All letters

ㅇIn 아
i

silent initially / ng finally. A syllable needs an initial consonant position. ㅇ fills it silently before a vowel; at the bottom of 강, it is ng.

ㅏIn 아
i

a. An open a. With a vertical vowel, the initial consonant sits on the left.

ㅣIn 이
i

i. A clear ee vowel.

ㅗIn 오
i

o. A rounded o. A horizontal vowel goes underneath the initial consonant.

ㅜIn 우
i

u. A rounded oo vowel.

ㅠIn 유
i

yu. A y glide plus ㅜ.

ㄴIn 나
i

n. Tongue at the ridge behind the upper teeth.

ㅁIn 마
i

m. Close the lips.

ㄷIn 다
i

d/t (lax). Another lax stop; listen to its position in words.

ㅅIn 사
i

s. Before 이 it is commonly nearer sh.

ㅓIn 어
i

eo / ʌ. An open unrounded vowel; not a sequence e + o.

ㅡIn 으
i

eu / ɯ. A high unrounded vowel; not oo. Keep the lips unrounded.

ㄹIn 라
i

r/l. Often a short tap between vowels and l at the end of a syllable.

ㅂIn 바
i

b/p (lax). A lax lip stop; voicing varies with position.

ㄱIn 가
i

g/k (lax). A Korean lax stop. Its voicing depends on position; it is not simply an English g everywhere.

ㅋIn 카
i

kʰ (airy). A stronger puff of air than lax ㄱ.

ㄲIn 까
i

kk (tense). Firm tense articulation; not two separately spoken k syllables.

ㅑIn 야
i

ya. The extra stroke adds a y glide.

ㅕIn 여
i

yeo. A y glide plus ㅓ.

ㅛIn 요
i

yo. A y glide plus ㅗ.

ㅌIn 타
i

tʰ (airy). A puff of air; not English th.

ㄸIn 따
i

tt (tense). Firm articulation; no separate extra syllable.

ㅍIn 파
i

pʰ (airy). A puff of air after the lips open.

ㅃIn 빠
i

pp (tense). Firm lip closure.

ㅆIn 싸
i

ss (tense). A tense s; compare ㅅ.

ㅈIn 자
i

j/ch (lax). A lax joined consonant; listen rather than substituting one English sound.

ㅊIn 차
i

chʰ (airy). An airy joined consonant.

ㅉIn 짜
i

jj (tense). A tense joined consonant.

ㅎIn 하
i

h. An h sound; it can interact with following consonants.

ㅐIn 애
i

ae. Often pronounced like ㅔ in modern standard speech.

ㅔIn 에
i

e. Often merges with ㅐ; still learn the distinct spelling.

ㅒIn 얘
i

yae. A y glide with ㅐ.

ㅖIn 예
i

ye. A y glide with ㅔ; pronunciation varies in some consonant contexts.

ㅘIn 와
i

wa. ㅗ plus ㅏ in one syllable.

ㅝIn 워
i

wo. ㅜ plus ㅓ.

ㅟIn 위
i

wi. ㅜ plus ㅣ.

ㅙIn 왜
i

wae. ㅗ plus ㅐ.

ㅚIn 외
i

oe / we. Commonly pronounced like we in contemporary speech.

ㅞIn 웨
i

we. ㅜ plus ㅔ.

ㅢIn 의
i

ui. Often eu + i initially. In common positions and in the possessive particle, pronunciation can change; listen to 의사 and the course phrases.