Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 1 - My First Steps in Korean (Lessons 1 to 30) ᚛ Lesson 4 - Learn Hangul (part 4) - Double consonants

Learn Hangul (part 4) - Double consonants

Learning Hangeul

• Simple vowels
• Simple consonants
• Combined vowels
• Double consonants
• Final consonant combinations

List of double consonants in Korean

Korean has five double consonants. These sounds don’t exist in English, so they might take some practice to pronounce correctly.

A good tip to pronounce them properly is to place your hand or a small piece of paper in front of your mouth.
When you say a double consonant, no air should come out. These sounds are produced without any burst of air.
As long as you feel air escaping, you’re probably not pronouncing them correctly yet.

Double consonants also sound tighter and tenser than regular ones. They require more muscular tension and a sharp, crisp sound.

ㄲ

• At the beginning of a syllable: tense [k] -  까
• At the end of a syllable: blocked [k] sound -  앆

ㄸ

• At the beginning of a syllable: tense [t] -  따
• At the end of a syllable: not used

ㅃ

• At the beginning of a syllable: tense [p] -  빠
• At the end of a syllable: not used

ㅆ

• At the beginning of a syllable: tense [s] -  싸
• At the end of a syllable: blocked [t] sound -  았

Before "i"-sounding vowels like ㅣ, ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, etc., ㅆ is pronounced like a tense [sh] – 씨

ㅉ

• At the beginning of a syllable: tense [j] -  짜
• At the end of a syllable: not used

Summary

Comparison with simple consonants

When pronouncing double consonants, make sure the sound is tight and crisp, with no breath. Otherwise, it may sound like a regular consonant instead.

So don’t confuse:

• 가 and 까
• 다 and 따
• 바 and 빠
• 사 and 싸
• 자 and 짜

Double consonants and regular consonants are completely different. They form different words, and native speakers distinguish them without any problem.

That said, double consonants are quite difficult to pronounce at first, so don’t worry. It takes time and practice, and that’s totally normal.

Exercises

You already know some vocabulary and sentence structures… But when you listen to Koreans speak, do you ever feel like something is missing, the meaning behind the words, the cultural nuance that makes the language truly come alive?

That’s completely normal. In Korean, proverbs and idiomatic expressions are essential to understanding how Koreans think and communicate. Without them, you can speak, but your language will feel flat and overly literal.

With 100 Korean Proverbs - Illustrated and Explained, you’ll understand not only what Koreans say, but why they say it, and what each expression reveals about their mindset and culture.

Learn more

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