Learn why ㄱ (giyeok) sometimes sounds like ㅋ (kieuk)
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| Hi everybody! Jae here. Welcome to Ask a Teacher, where I’ll answer some of your most common Korean questions. |
| The question for this lesson is… |
| Why does ㄱ[giyeok] sometimes sound like ㅋ[kieuk]? |
| Many Korean learners wonder why some Korean consonants don’t sound like their English equivalents. Have you ever wondered why ㄱ[giyeok] sometimes sounds like “k” and not “g” or why ㄷ[digeut] sometimes sounds like “t” instead of “d”? It’s because some consonants change their sounds depending on their location in the sentence. |
| For example, the consonants ㄱ[giyeok], ㄷ[digeut], ㅂ[bieup], and ㅈ[jieut] are pronounced more strongly when they’re at the beginning of a word. This is similar to their aspirated pairs ㅋ[kieuk], ㅌ[tieut], ㅍ[pieup], and ㅊ[chieut]. “Aspirated” describes that strong puff of breath that is used on some words. You can hear it on the p’s in the words “pat” and “pin” in English. |
| Let’s break it down with the word 가방[gabang], which means “bag.” Usually, the consonant ㄱ[giyeok] sounds like an English “g.” However, if it’s at the beginning of the word, it takes on the English “k” sound; 가방[gabang]. |
| Let’s do another example with the word 바다[bada], which means “sea.” The ㅂ[bieup] in this word is different than the one in 가방[gabang], which we mentioned earlier. In this case, the ㅂ[bieup] is pronounced more like ㅍ[pieup]. Try saying the words 가방[gabang], and 바다[bada], out loud, and see how you sound! |
| Let’s do one more example with the word for “bike,” 자전거[jajeongeo]. This word has the letter ㅈ[jieut] twice, so you can really hear the difference! The first ㅈ[jieut] has that harder puff of breath, whereas the second ㅈ[jieut] is a little bit softer. |
| Sometimes the sounds can be a little difficult to distinguish, so it’s good to separate them into two categories: the hard ㄱ[giyeok], ㄷ[digeut], ㅂ[bieup] and ㅈ[jieut] sounds, and the soft ㄱ[giyeok], ㄷ[digeut], ㅂ[bieup] and ㅈ[jieut] sounds. |
| How was this lesson? Pretty interesting, right? |
| Do you have any more questions? Leave them in the comments below and I’ll try to answer them! |
| See you next time. 다음 시간에 만나요. (Daeum-sigane mannayo.) |
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