Hangul Consonants: 19 Letters, Sounds and Reading Practice
1. Your first Hangul syllable
ㄴ + ㅏ → 나
This is how Korean letters work: ㄴ and ㅏ fit together to make 나 (na). Hangul is the Korean alphabet. You will learn its 19 consonants in small groups, then use them to read without Latin-letter hints.
By the end, aim to recognise the 14 basic and five double consonants, build blocks with ㅏ, read simple syllables and words, and tell similar letters apart. You are practising reading here, not testing perfect pronunciation.
The vowel ㅏ has an open “ah” sound, roughly like the vowel in father. A syllable is a unit of pronunciation. In Hangul, each syllable is written as one block. With ㅏ, the consonant goes on the left and the vowel on the right.
Inside 나: left = ㄴ (consonant); right = ㅏ (vowel). Read the combined block as na.
Build two more. Copy 나 once. Then write the blocks for ㅁ + ㅏ and ㅂ + ㅏ. Fit the letters into a block rather than leaving them separate.
Check your first blocks
ㅁ + ㅏ → 마 (ma); ㅂ + ㅏ → 바 (ba). The vowel stays the same; only the consonant changes.
2. Learn the basic consonants in small groups
In each chart, Name identifies the letter, while With ㅏ shows the block you read. For example, ㄴ is called 니은, but 나 is read na. The names are references: you do not need to read or memorise them yet.
The Latin hints follow Revised Romanization. They are not exact English pronunciation instructions: Korean ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅈ are not simply English g, d, b, j. Use the hints to get started, then try each practice line without them.
Group A: ㄴ · ㅁ · ㅅ · ㅇ
| Letter | Name | With ㅏ |
|---|---|---|
| ㄴ | 니은 | 나 · na |
| ㅁ | 미음 | 마 · ma |
| ㅅ | 시옷 | 사 · sa |
| ㅇ | 이응 | 아 · a |
ㄴ is n-like, ㅁ is m-like, and ㅅ is s-like in these blocks. At the beginning of 아, ㅇ is silent. It fills the first position, so 아 is read a, not “nga”.
Pause and try. Find the first consonant in 사. Build ㅇ + ㅏ. Then look away from the chart and read this mixed line:
마 · 아 · 나 · 사
Check Group A
First consonant: ㅅ. Built block: 아. Reading check, left to right: ma · a · na · sa. If you hesitated, point to each first consonant and find it in the chart.
Group B: ㄱ · ㄷ · ㅂ · ㅈ
| Letter | Name | With ㅏ |
|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | 기역 | 가 · ga |
| ㄷ | 디귿 | 다 · da |
| ㅂ | 비읍 | 바 · ba |
| ㅈ | 지읒 | 자 · ja |
These four are plain consonants. The ㅅ you learnt in Group A is also classified as a plain consonant. Notice the shapes: ㄱ looks like a corner; ㄷ is open on the right, with a top and bottom line. ㅂ is a box-like shape with a line across it; ㅈ has a top stroke above two sloping strokes.
Pause and try. Write ㄷ + ㅏ as one block. Change the consonant to ㅈ and write the new block. Read the mixed line, including letters from Group A:
바 · 나 · 자 · 마 · 다 · 가
Check Group B
Blocks: 다 → 자. Reading check: ba · na · ja · ma · da · ga. If 가 and 다 look alike, compare the lower line of ㄷ.
Group C: ㄹ · ㅎ
| Letter | Name | With ㅏ |
|---|---|---|
| ㄹ | 리을 | 라 · ra |
| ㅎ | 히읗 | 하 · ha |
ㄹ has a stepped shape. In 라, its sound uses a quick tongue-tip tap near the ridge behind your upper teeth, rather than a sustained English r. ㅎ has a circle with strokes above it; its sound is h-like here.
Pause and try. Find the consonant in 하. Build ㄹ + ㅏ. Then read:
아 · 하 · 라 · 나 · 다 · 라
Check Group C
Consonant: ㅎ. Built block: 라. Reading check: a · ha · ra · na · da · ra. The strokes above the circle distinguish ㅎ from ㅇ.
Group D: ㅋ · ㅌ · ㅍ · ㅊ
| Letter | Name | With ㅏ |
|---|---|---|
| ㅋ | 키읔 | 카 · ka |
| ㅌ | 티읕 | 타 · ta |
| ㅍ | 피읖 | 파 · pa |
| ㅊ | 치읓 | 차 · cha |
These are aspirated consonants: they are released with a noticeable puff of air. For reading, use the shape pairs below. ㅋ is related to ㄱ, ㅌ to ㄷ, ㅍ to ㅂ, and ㅊ to ㅈ. Keep each letter distinct.
Pause and try. Copy each pair and circle the aspirated letter. Then read the second line in its new order.
가 카 / 다 타 / 바 파 / 자 차
차 · 가 · 파 · 타 · 카 · 바
Check Group D
Circle ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅊ inside 카, 타, 파, 차. Reading check for the mixed line: cha · ga · pa · ta · ka · ba.
3. Add the five tense consonants
The five double letters are called tense consonants. Tense consonants have a distinct, firmer-sounding beginning. They are not simply louder versions of plain consonants. For this lesson, learn to recognise the doubled shapes.
| Letter | Name | With ㅏ |
|---|---|---|
| ㄲ | 쌍기역 | 까 · kka |
| ㄸ | 쌍디귿 | 따 · tta |
| ㅃ | 쌍비읍 | 빠 · ppa |
| ㅆ | 쌍시옷 | 싸 · ssa |
| ㅉ | 쌍지읒 | 짜 · jja |
ㄲ + ㅏ → 까 is one block and one syllable. Doubling the consonant does not double the syllable: 까 is not 카카.
Compare each family. Plain is the ordinary non-tense member; aspirated has a noticeable puff of air; tense has a firmer start. These short descriptions introduce the categories, rather than teaching the full sound contrast.
| Plain | Aspirated | Tense |
|---|---|---|
| 가 | 카 | 까 |
| 다 | 타 | 따 |
| 바 | 파 | 빠 |
| 자 | 차 | 짜 |
사 · 싸 form a plain–tense pair. There is no aspirated third letter in that pair.
Pause and try. Build ㅆ + ㅏ and ㅉ + ㅏ. Read these mixed blocks, pointing to the consonant first:
따 · 사 · 까 · 빠 · 짜 · 싸
Check the tense letters
Blocks: 싸, 짜. Reading check: tta · sa · kka · ppa · jja · ssa. Each item is one syllable, including 따, 까, 빠, 짜, 싸.
4. Read without the Latin hints
Now work from the Korean letters. For each block: find the consonant on the left, notice ㅏ on the right, then read the whole block. The lines below are syllable drills, not word lists. You do not need to find a meaning for every item.
First pass: Read from left to right. Second pass: Read the syllable blocks in reverse order, starting with the rightmost block. Read each individual block normally. This is a recognition exercise. In normal Korean reading, syllable blocks are read from left to right.
라 · 파 · 나 · 가 · 아 · 따 · 자
싸 · 바 · 타 · 마 · 짜 · 사
차 · 까 · 다 · 하 · 빠 · 카
Write and rebuild: Choose three blocks from the lines. Write each as consonant + vowel, then cover the original and rebuild it. For example, 라 → ㄹ + ㅏ → 라.
Check the reading lines
Left to right: (1) ra · pa · na · ga · a · tta · ja; (2) ssa · ba · ta · ma · jja · sa; (3) cha · kka · da · ha · ppa · ka.
These hints check the letter sequence, not pronunciation accuracy. For your three rebuilt blocks, compare with the originals: the consonant should match, and ㅏ should remain on the right.
5. Join the blocks into real words
Read each word before looking at its meaning. All the words below use only ㅏ and consonants you have met. There are no Latin hints in this table.
| Word | Blocks | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 나 | 나 | I / me (informal) |
| 나라 | 나 + 라 | country |
| 바다 | 바 + 다 | sea |
| 바나나 | 바 + 나 + 나 | banana |
| 아빠 | 아 + 빠 | dad (informal) |
나 is a non-humble way to refer to yourself, used with friends or people younger than you; it is not the polite default with someone you have just met. 아빠 is a familiar word for “dad”. Today, learn their meanings and read the written words; sentence-building comes later.
Use the word, not its position: Read the shuffled words below. On paper, write the English meaning and mark a slash between syllable blocks. Then write the Korean word for banana from memory.
아빠 · 바나나 · 나 · 바다 · 나라
Check your words
아/빠 — dad; 바/나/나 — banana; 나 — I/me; 바/다 — sea; 나/라 — country.
From memory: 바나나. It has three syllables. 나 has one; the other three words have two.
6. Final check: recognise, build and read
Close the answer panels and try without the charts. Write your answers on paper. If you need to look back, do so, then retry that item without looking. Reading aloud is useful practice, but this written check cannot assess pronunciation.
- Write the first consonant in each block: 마 · 차 · 짜.
- Build three blocks: ㅂ + ㅏ, ㅎ + ㅏ, ㅆ + ㅏ.
- Which block begins with a silent letter: 하 or 아? Write the letter.
- Write the plain, aspirated and tense blocks in that order, using ㅏ: (a) ㄲ · ㄱ · ㅋ; (b) ㅌ · ㄸ · ㄷ.
- Change only the consonant: 자 → use ㅊ → use ㅉ. Write both new blocks.
- Read 빠 and 파파. How many syllables does each have?
- Read this new order without Latin hints. Then write the first consonant of each block: 하 · 까 · 나 · 차 · 바 · 따.
- Split 바나나 into blocks and write its meaning. How many syllables are there?
- Write the Korean words for sea and dad without copying the word table.
- A learner writes 나라 for “banana”. Correct the word, then read the corrected word and 나라. What does 나라 mean?
Check all 10 answers
- ㅁ · ㅊ · ㅉ. These are the letters to the left of ㅏ.
- 바 · 하 · 싸. Each consonant shares one block with ㅏ.
- 아; ㅇ. Initial ㅇ fills the position without adding a sound.
- 가 · 카 · 까; 다 · 타 · 따. Three related shapes, three different consonants.
- 차 → 짜. The vowel stays ㅏ.
- 빠: 1; 파파: 2. Count the blocks, not the doubled strokes. These are syllable examples here, not vocabulary items.
- ㅎ · ㄲ · ㄴ · ㅊ · ㅂ · ㄸ. Reading aid, after your attempt: ha · kka · na · cha · ba · tta.
- 바 + 나 + 나; banana; 3 syllables.
- 바다 — sea; 아빠 — dad. Keep the double ㅃ in 아빠.
- 바나나 — banana; 나라 — country. They share 나, but their other blocks and lengths differ.
Use your result
If you mixed up shapes in 1, 4 or 5, return to the matching consonant group. If building blocks in 2 or 3 was difficult, revisit Part 1. If 6–10 were difficult, separate each block in Parts 4–5 and try a different order. Repeat the items you missed, rather than copying every chart again.
7. Your next step
Use the last check to see what you can now do: identify a consonant, combine it with ㅏ, and read the blocks in a short word. Keep using the small charts when needed; you do not have to memorise every letter name before moving on.
In the next lesson, changing the vowel will let you build and read more syllables: Continue to Korean vowels.