● KONGLE
Level 0 · Unit 2 · Consonants · 6 min

Aspirated Consonants: ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅊ

Hear and produce the aspirated consonants ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅊ, and tell them apart from their plain partners ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅈ by the puff of air.

A puff of air changes everything

ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, and ㅊ are the aspirated partners of ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, and ㅈ — same mouth position, but with a strong burst of air released. Hold a piece of paper (or your hand) an inch in front of your mouth: say 가 and the paper barely moves, then say 카 and it should flutter. English already has this contrast — compare the 'p' in spin (no puff) to the 'p' in pin (puff) — Korean just gives each version its own letter. Each aspirated letter is written as its plain partner plus one extra stroke, a visual reminder of the extra breath.

ㅋ
키읔 k (aspirated)

ㄱ with an extra line on top — a breathy 'k' as in kite, stronger than plain ㄱ.

코 ko nose
ㅌ
티읕 t (aspirated)

ㄷ with an extra bar across the top — a breathy 't' as in top, stronger than plain ㄷ.

토마토 tomato tomato
ㅍ
피읖 p (aspirated)

ㅂ opened up into two peaks — a breathy 'p' as in pie, stronger than plain ㅂ.

포도 podo grape
ㅊ
치읓 ch (aspirated)

ㅈ with an extra stroke on top — a breathy 'ch' as in chip, stronger than plain ㅈ.

치마 chima skirt
기차 gicha train

Say it out loud

카드 kadeu card

Listen, then repeat aloud. Matching the rhythm matters more than perfection.

Check yourself