Basic Consonants 2: ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅎ

ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅎ round out your first set of Hangul consonants, unlocking hundreds of real words together with the vowels you already know. Each shape is simple: ㅂ looks like a bench, ㅅ like a small peak, ㅇ a plain circle, ㅈ a slanted check mark, and ㅎ a hat over a line. Say each one gently, with no extra puff of air — that contrast comes later, when you meet their stronger cousins ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅊ.

At the start of a syllable, ㅇ is silent — it's just a placeholder so every syllable block has a consonant slot, the way you already saw in 아이, 오이, and 우유. Later, when ㅇ appears at the end of a syllable, it makes an 'ng' sound, like the end of song. You'll learn that ending role (받침, batchim) in Unit 4 — for now just remember: ㅇ at the front means 'say the vowel alone'.