Unit 10 · ㄱ, ㅋ and ㄲ · Read

ㄱ, ㅋ and ㄲ

Hear the relaxed, airy and tense g/k family.

Meet the letters

Tap a card and listen. Try saying it too.

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.

Build a syllable

A quick first step: fit the new letters into a block. Next, find syllables in words and practise reading, listening and writing.

1 · Start2 · Vowel
ㄱㅏ
가
ㄱ + ㅏ
1 · Start2 · Vowel
ㄱㅗ
고
ㄱ + ㅗ
1 · Start2 · Vowel
ㅋㅏ
카
ㅋ + ㅏ
1 · Start2 · Vowel
ㅋㅗ
코
ㅋ + ㅗ
1 · Start2 · Vowel
ㄲㅏ
까
ㄲ + ㅏ
1 · Start2 · Vowel
ㄲㅗ
꼬
ㄲ + ㅗ

Words to read

meat

고기

meatgogi
nose

코

noseko
tail

꼬리

tailkkori
furniture

가구

furnituregagu
baby

아기

babyagi
tool / equipment

기구

tool / equipmentgigu
Reading tips

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

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

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

Meet the relaxed, airy and tense g/k starts with the same helper vowel.

Find the first syllable in meat, nose and tail. Change the vowel while keeping the consonant you just learned.

Reading practice

First, place the new letters

Copy this block using its start, vowel and any ending.

가
1 · Start2 · Vowel
12
□
Start → vowel

First, place the new letters

Copy this block using its start, vowel and any ending.

고
1 · Start2 · Vowel
12
□
Start → vowel

First, place the new letters

Copy this block using its start, vowel and any ending.

카
1 · Start2 · Vowel
12
□
Start → vowel

First, place the new letters

Copy this block using its start, vowel and any ending.

코
1 · Start2 · Vowel
12
□
Start → vowel

First, place the new letters

Copy this block using its start, vowel and any ending.

까
1 · Start2 · Vowel
12
□
Start → vowel

First, place the new letters

Copy this block using its start, vowel and any ending.

꼬
1 · Start2 · Vowel
12
□
Start → vowel

Find the syllable in its word

Match each syllable to the highlighted part of a word.

Hear the letter in a syllable

Listen to an example syllable. Match its new letter.

Hear the whole word

Listen. Find its printed word.

Hear the whole word

Listen. Find its printed word.

Read without a sound hint

Read the words. Match their pictures.

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.

코

Sound to spelling

Listen. Choose the word you studied.

Spelling to sound

Read the word. Choose its sound.

가구

Sound to spelling

Listen. Choose the word you studied.

Spelling to sound

Read the word. Choose its sound.

기구

Write the word

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

meat

Write the word

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

nose

Write the word

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

tail

Write the word

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

furniture

Write the word

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

baby

Write the word

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

tool / equipment

Finish practice to save this unit.

You can read and write this

Hear the relaxed, airy and tense g/k family.

Next unit
meat

고기

meat
nose

코

nose
tail

꼬리

tail
furniture

가구

furniture
baby

아기

baby
tool / equipment

기구

tool / equipment
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.