The 14 Basic Consonants
There are 14 basic consonants. A consonant only makes a sound when it meets a vowel, so try reading each one in the table below combined with 'ใ '.
| Consonant | Name | Initial Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ใฑ | ๊ธฐ์ญ (giyeok) | g/k | ๊ฐ (ga) |
| ใด | ๋์ (nieun) | n | ๋ (na) |
| ใท | ๋๊ทฟ (digeut) | d/t | ๋ค (da) |
| ใน | ๋ฆฌ์ (rieul) | r/l | ๋ผ (ra) |
| ใ | ๋ฏธ์ (mieum) | m | ๋ง (ma) |
| ใ | ๋น์ (bieup) | b/p | ๋ฐ (ba) |
| ใ | ์์ท (siot) | s | ์ฌ (sa) |
| ใ | ์ด์ (ieung) | silent / ng | ์ (a) |
| ใ | ์ง์ (jieut) | j | ์ (ja) |
| ใ | ์น์ (chieut) | ch | ์ฐจ (cha) |
| ใ | ํค์ (kieuk) | k | ์นด (ka) |
| ใ | ํฐ์ (tieut) | t | ํ (ta) |
| ใ | ํผ์ (pieup) | p | ํ (pa) |
| ใ | ํ์ (hieut) | h | ํ (ha) |
๐ก Tip: ใฑ, ใท, ใ , ใ sound harder, like k, t, p, ch, at the start of a word, and soften to g, d, b, j between vowels.
๊ฐ๋๋ค
ga-na-da
the ABCs of Hangul
๋ฐ๋ค
ba-da
sea
๋๋ฌด
na-mu
tree
๊ณ ๊ธฐ
go-gi
meat
์น๋ง
chi-ma
skirt
๊ตฌ๋
gu-du
dress shoes
ํฌ๋
po-do
grapes
ํ๋ฆฌ
heo-ri
waist
์ฌ์
sa-ja
lion
The Hidden Rule in Consonant Names
Most consonant names follow a 'ใ ฃ + ์ผ' pattern, using the consonant once as an initial and once as a final, so its sound appears twice. For example, 'ใด' is ๋์ (nieun) and 'ใ ' is ๋ฏธ์ (mieum).
The Three Exceptions
A few consonant names break the pattern slightly, so memorize 'ใฑ' as ๊ธฐ์ญ (giyeok), 'ใท' as ๋๊ทฟ (digeut), and 'ใ ' as ์์ท (siot). All the rest follow the regular 'ใ ฃ + ์ผ' rule.