Level 0 · Unit 2 · Consonants · 6 min

Basic Consonants 1: ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ

Read and pronounce the consonants ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ and combine them with known vowels to read real words.

Consonants finally make a sound

So far every syllable started with silent ㅇ — it was just a placeholder. Real consonants like ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ actually change the sound. Pair any of them with a vowel you already know — ㄱ + ㅏ makes 가 (ga) — and you can read a real syllable.

ㄱ

기역 g

A single stroke bending at a right angle, like a flag pole — sounds like 'g' in go at the start of a word.

고기 gogi meat

ㄴ

니은 n

A right angle lying on its side, like the tongue tip touching behind the teeth — sounds like 'n' in no.

나무 namu tree

ㄷ

디귿 d

Looks like an open box with the top missing — sounds like 'd' in dog.

다리 dari leg / bridge

ㄹ

리을 r

A zigzag shape — sounds between English 'r' and 'l', like the quick tap in butter.

나라 nara country

ㅁ

미음 m

A closed square, like a mouth shut before it opens — sounds like 'm' in mom.

머리 meori head

노래 norae song

노래 shows up everywhere in K-pop — a 노래방 (norae-bang) is a 'song room', the Korean word for karaoke room.

Say it out loud

어머니 eomeoni mother

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

Consonants finally make a sound

Say it out loud

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