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.

  1. Letter 1 of 4
    ㅋ
    키읔 k (aspirated)

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

    코 ko nose

Say it out loud

카드 kadeu card

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

Why? 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.

Check yourself

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