Learn how to pronounce the Korean consonants
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| Hi everyone. |
| Welcome to The Ultimate Korean Pronunciation Guide. |
| In the last lesson, we learned the pronunciation of these unaspirated consonants. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn how to pronounce the aspirated versions of those consonants. |
| The first consonant is.. |
| ㅋ / (slow) ㅋ |
| This is the aspirated version of this consonant. |
| Here's a trick to help you remember. When an unaspirated consonant gets one additional stroke like this, it becomes an aspirated consonant. |
| Aspirated means that a puff of breath is made when you make the sound, so as you say all of the sounds in this lesson, air should come out of your mouth. |
| Compare the sounds of these two letters. |
| 가 / 카 |
| The consonant in the second word is aspirated. Put your hand in front of your mouth, and repeat after the native speaker. |
| 가 카 |
| Can you feel the strong air from your mouth? That's the difference between the unaspirated and aspirated consonants. |
| Here's another word using this letter. |
| 쿠키 / (slow) 쿠키 |
| If you read it as a non-aspirated consonant, it will be.. |
| 구기 / (slow) 구기 |
| Make sure you read aspirated consonants correctly. If you don't, you might get completely different reactions. |
| The next consonant is.. |
| ㅌ / (slow) ㅌ |
| It sounds like 't' in English. It's the aspirated version of this letter. Just like when reading this letter, make sure your tongue goes between your upper and lower teeth like you read 'th' sound in English. |
| Here's an example. |
| 타다 (slow) 타다 |
| Put your hands in front of your mouth and read this word again. You can feel the stronger air coming out of your mouth when you read the first syllable. Repeat after the native speaker. |
| 타다 (slow) 타다 |
| The next consonant is.. |
| ㅊ / (slow) ㅊ |
| It sounds like 'ch' as in 'China.' Listen to an example word. |
| 차지 / (slow) 차지 |
| The next consonant is.. |
| ㅍ / (slow) ㅍ |
| It sounds like 'P' in English but you release a lot less air. Unlike other pairs, this one looks quite different from the unaspirated version. |
| Listen to an example. |
| 포부 / (slow) 포부 |
| Were you expecting one more aspirated consonant? Don't worry about this letter, because it doesn't have an aspirated version. |
| Now, review the aspirated consonants with their names. |
| 키읔 |
| 티읕 |
| 치읓 |
| 비읍 |
| In the next lesson, you'll master the pronunciation of the tensed continents. Perfect these sounds, because they’ll help you in the next lesson. What has been the hardest thing about Korean pronunciation so far? Please comment and share your thoughts. See you in the next Ultimate Korean Pronunciation Guide lesson! |
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