Hangeul step 6
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Contents
Double consonants
We saw how the letters ㅋ,ㅌ,ㅊ,ㅍ were similar to the letters ㄱ,ㄷ,ㅈ,ㅂ in step 4. Now we will learn another set of letters that are also similar, ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅉ, ㅃ and ㅆ. If you noticed, they are just a double version of ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅈ, ㅂ, ㅅ. These sounds are not only the hardest to explain, but the hardest to pronounce for non native speakers since there is nothing remotely similar in English or other languages. These letters will take a lot of practice to pronounce, so listen carefully to the audio and make sure you can distinguish it from other sounds. The best way I can generalize these sounds are they are stronger and more tensed versions of some of the previous sounds you've learned. Note these consonants are not aspirated.
Diphthongs (double vowels)
Diphthongs are defined as: "a complex vowel sound in which the first vowel gradually moves toward a second vowel so that both vowels form one syllable, e.g. "a" and "i" in "rail." Take a tight and quick "e" from "red" and quickly add the quick "i" in "ill." 1 The vowels we are learning are a combination of vowels we already learned. For example ㅘ is a combination of ㅗ and ㅏ, but with a /w/ sound in front. A lot of these are pronounced by saying the first vowel and the second vowel quickly, however you will notice that all of these sounds (except ㅢ) make a /w/ sound in front.
- Source: MSN Encarta dictionary
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 ㅘ is a combination of the vowel ㅗ and the vowel ㅏ. This sounds you are pronouncing ㅗ and ㅏ together, but with a /w/ sound in front. Sounds similar to the <wa> in <wander>. /wa/ For full information about this letter, see ㅘ.
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 This is a more stronger and tensed version of ㄱ. To make this sound, place everything in your mouth as if you were going to make a ㄱ sound, then hold that position for a slight second and 'push off' harder than normal making the sound stronger. and For full information about this letter, see ㄲ. | ||||||||||
| Practice | |
|---|---|
| 가 | |
| 카 | |
| 까 | |
| 꺼 | |
| 끄 | |
| 과 | |
| 화 | |
| 봐 | |
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 ㅙ is a combination of the vowel ㅗ and the vowel ㅐ. This sounds you are pronouncing ㅗ and ㅐ together, but with a /w/ sound in front. Sounds similar to the <we> in <wet>. /wɛ/ For full information about this letter, see ㅙ.
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 This is a more stronger and tensed version of ㄷ. To make this sound, place everything in your mouth as if you were going to make a ㄷ sound, hold your tongue in that position for a slight second and 'push off' with more force than normal making the sound stronger. For full information about this letter, see ㄸ. | ||||||||||
| Practice | |
|---|---|
| 다 | |
| 타 | |
| 따 | |
| 또 | |
| 괘 | |
| 돼 | |
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 ㅚ is a combination of the vertical vowel ㅗ and the horizontal vowel ㅣ. Korean dictionaries list this as identical to ㅞ, so like the <we> in <wet>. Some go further and say that ㅙ = ㅚ = ㅞ. /we/ For full information about this letter, see ㅚ.
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 This is a stronger version of ㅅ. Just make your hiss stronger than the normal /s/. When ㅆ is combined with the vowels ㅣ and the double vowels ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, or ㅠ it sounds like a slightly stronger version of the "sh" sound. For full information about this letter, see ㅆ. | ||||||||||
| Practice | |
|---|---|
| 사 | |
| 싸 | |
| 서 | |
| 시 | |
| 씨 | |
| 써 | |
| 퇴 | |
| 되 | |
| 쇠 | |
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 ㅝ is a combination of the vertical vowel ㅜ and the horizontal vowel ㅓ. Sounds similar to <wo> in <wonderful>. Again, try to focus on saying ㅜ and ㅓ together quickly. /wʌ/ For full information about this letter, see ㅝ.
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 This is a more stronger and tensed version of ㅂ. To make this sound, put your lips together as if you were going to make a ㅂ sound, then hold your lips a slight second and 'push off' harder than normal making the sound stronger. For full information about this letter, see ㅃ. | ||||||||||
| Practice | |
|---|---|
| 보 | |
| 포 | |
| 뽀 | |
| 삐 | |
| 궈 | |
| 둬 | |
| 뭐 | |
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 ㅜ is a combination of the vertical vowel ㅜ and the horizontal vowel ㅔ. This vowel does not appear very much. It sounds like the "wai" in "wait," but shorter and almost like the "wet" in "wet." It is also basically pronounced the same as ㅚ and ㅙ. /we/ For full information about this letter, see ㅞ.
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 This is a more stronger and tensed version of ㅈ. To make this sound, place everything in your mouth as if you were going to make a ㅈ sound, hold that position for a slight second and 'push off' with more force than normal making the sound stronger. For full information about this letter, see ㅉ. | ||||||||||
| Practice | |
|---|---|
| 자 | |
| 차 | |
| 짜 | |
| 쪄 | |
| 쉐 | |
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 ㅟ is a combination of the vertical vowel ㅜ and the horizontal vowel ㅣ. Think of the <wee> in <weed>. /wi/ For full information about this letter, see ㅟ.
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| Practice | |
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| 귀 | |
| 뒤 | |
| 튀 | |
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 Our final vowel is ㅢ. It is a combination of the vertical vowel ㅡ and the horizontal vowel l. This does not make a "w" sound. It is unrounded. Think of the difference between ㅜ and ㅡ and you will get the idea. /ɰi/ For full information about this letter, see ㅢ.
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More Examples
| Word | Audio |
|---|---|
| 가깝다 (to be close) | |
| 과외 (private lesson) | |
| 가위 (scissors) | |
| 과일 (fruit) | |
| 과자 (snack) | |
| 기엽다 (to be cute) | |
| 기쁘다 (to be glad) | |
| 까다롭다 (to be picky) | |
| 깍두기 (cubed radish kimchi) | |
| 깜빡 (flash) | |
| 깜짝 놀라다 (to be surprised) | |
| 깎다 (to cut) | |
| 꽃 (flower) | |
| 뜨겁다 (to be hot [touch]) | |
| 바뀌다 (to change) | |
| 법원 (court of law) | |
| 비싸다 (to be expensive) | |
| 빠르다 (to be quick) | |
| 빠지다 (to fall out) | |
| 스웨덴 (Sweden) | |
| 싸구려 (cheap goods) | |
| 싸다 (to be cheap) | |
| 싸우다 (to fight) | |
| 쓰다 (to use, to write) | |
| 영화 (movie) | |
| 예쁘다 (to be pretty) | |
| 오빠 (older brother [for a female]) | |
| 왕 (king) | |
| 왜 (why) | |
| 외국 (foreign country) | |
| 외롭다(to be lonely) | |
| 외숙모 (mom's brother's wife) | |
| 원 (The won, Korean currency) | |
| 웬일 (what reason) | |
| 위험하다 (to be dangerous) | |
| 의료 보험 (medical insurance) | |
| 의사 (doctor) | |
| 의자 (chair) | |
| 짜증 나다 (to be annoyed) | |
| 짬뽕 (a type of Chinese spicy noodle) | |
| 치과 (dentist office) | |
| 취하다 (to get drunk) | |
| 코끼리 (elephant) | |
| 튀김 (fried food) | |
| 회사 (company) | |
| 원숭이 (monkey) |
Writing
Writing the double consonants requires just writing the consonants we previously learned twice, so to write ㄲ you just write ㄱ twice. For the vowels in this section, you write the vertical vowel (ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ) before the horizontal vowel. So if you write ㅘ, you write ㅗ first, then ㅏ. A section 7 will be made in the future for more advanced pronunciation (notice we avoided ㅎ batchim examples? that was for a reason).
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Additional practice
Need help distinguishing between some sounds? Here are some more examples (or take the quiz below)
- ㄱ ㄲ ㅋ additional practice
- ㅂ ㅃ ㅍ additional practice
- ㄷ ㄸ ㅌ additional practice
- ㅈ ㅉ ㅊ additional practice
- ㅅ ㅆ additional practice
Quiz
Have trouble distinguishing some of the sounds in this section with other previous sounds? Check out these quizzes then:
- ㄱ ㅋ ㄲ quiz
- ㄷ ㅌ ㄸ quiz
- ㅅ ㅆ quiz (coming soon)
- ㅈ ㅊ ㅉ quiz (coming soon)
- ㅂ ㅍ ㅃ quiz (coming soon)
