🎬 Super Beginner Korean Class Ep 3. Learning Basic Korean Consonants

 

Hello everyone! This is Tina, your Korean teacher.😊

The weather in Korea has been quite strange lately. Just a few days ago, it felt like warm spring—cherry blossoms and other beautiful flowers were in full bloom. 🌸🌼

But suddenly, it started snowing! ❄️ Some areas even had hail. Snow in spring? It was both fascinating and a bit odd to see snowflakes settling on blooming flowers.

How's the weather where you are? Make sure to dress warmly and take care not to catch a cold! 😊

🎙️ [Review – What We Learned Last Time]

Last time, we learned about the basic vowels in Korean. Do you remember?

There are 10 basic vowels: ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅣ, ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅚ, ㅟ

Vowels can be pronounced on their own, but when writing them, they need the help of 'ㅇ' (ieung). For example: 아, 어, 오, 우, 으, 이, 애, 에, 외, 위

In these cases, 'ㅇ' doesn't have a sound. It's just there to hold the place so the vowel can form a syllable.

An important point to remember: the position of 'ㅇ' changes depending on the shape of the vowel.

• For vertical vowels like ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅣ, ㅐ, ㅔ, 'ㅇ' is placed on the left.

• For horizontal vowels like ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅚ, ㅟ, 'ㅇ' is placed on top.

Let’s read them once more: 아, 어, 오, 우, 으, 이, 애, 에, 외, 위​
Vowels are called the “middle sound” or 중성 (jung-seong) in Korean. When we add a consonant in front, we can create various Korean words.​
So today, we’ll learn basic consonants that can be combined with the vowels we studied last time.

1.  Introduction to Consonants(자음 소개)

Do you remember Korean consonants? We briefly talked about them in Episode 1.

Korean consonants are designed based on the shapes of our speech organs—like the mouth, tongue, and throat. For example:​

• “ㄱ” resembles the shape of the tongue blocking the back of the throat.​
• “ㄴ” represents the tongue touching the upper gums.​
• “ㅁ” looks like closed lips.​
• “ㅅ” shows slightly exposed teeth.​
• “ㅇ” mirrors the shape of the throat.

By adding strokes to these basic shapes, we get other consonants:

• "ㄱ" →ㅋ
• ”ㄴ” →ㄷ→ㅌ→ㄹ
• “ㅁ” →ㅂ→ㅍ
• “ㅅ” →ㅈ→ㅊ
• “ㅇ” →ㅎ

Isn’t it amazing how each consonant's shape carries meaning and scientific logic?

Now, we’ll practice each consonant one by one.

Vowels can make sounds on their own, but consonants need vowels to make a sound.

In this lesson, we’ll look at one consonant at a time and practice reading it together with the basic vowels. Last time, we learned 10 vowels, but today, we’ll focus on 6 that are easier to pronounce:​

ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅣ​

These vowels have clear mouth shapes and sounds, making them perfect for beginners.​

We’ll practice the other vowels—ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅚ, ㅟ—later on.

🎙️ [Consonant + Vowel Combination Practice]

Before we begin, do you remember how to write Hangul?
Hangul is written from left to right, and top to bottom.

Also, depending on the vowel, the position of the consonant changes.

👉 For vertical vowels like ㅏ, ㅓ, and ㅣ,
the consonant goes on the left.
Example: ㅇ + ㅏ = 아

👉 For horizontal vowels like ㅗ, ㅜ, and ㅡ, the consonant goes on top.
Example: ㅇ + ㅗ = 오

📝 When you make a syllable block, start with the consonant, then add the vowel in the correct position.

Now, let’s start learning the consonants too.
First, we have “Giyeok” (ㄱ)!

🟡 ㄱ – 기역 (Giyeok)

• ㄱ + ㅏ = 가
• ㄱ + ㅓ = 거
• ㄱ + ㅗ = 고
• ㄱ + ㅜ = 구
• ㄱ + ㅡ = 그
• ㄱ + ㅣ = 기

🟡 ㄴ – 니은 (Nieun)

• ㄴ + ㅏ = 나
• ㄴ + ㅓ = 너
• ㄴ + ㅗ = 노
• ㄴ + ㅜ = 누
• ㄴ + ㅡ = 느
• ㄴ + ㅣ = 니

🟡 ㄷ – 디귿 (Digeut)

• ㄷ + ㅏ = 다
• ㄷ + ㅓ = 더
• ㄷ + ㅗ = 도
• ㄷ + ㅜ = 두
• ㄷ + ㅡ = 드
• ㄷ + ㅣ = 디

🟡 ㄹ – 리을 (Rieul)

• ㄹ + ㅏ = 라
• ㄹ + ㅓ = 러
• ㄹ + ㅗ = 로
• ㄹ + ㅜ = 루
• ㄹ + ㅡ = 르
• ㄹ + ㅣ = 리

🟡ㅁ – 미음 (Mieum)

• ㅁ + ㅏ = 마 
• ㅁ + ㅓ = 머 
• ㅁ + ㅗ = 모
• ㅁ + ㅜ = 무 
• ㅁ + ㅡ = 므 
• ㅁ + ㅣ = 미 

🟡ㅂ – 비읍 (Bieup)

• ㅂ + ㅏ = 바 
• ㅂ + ㅓ = 버 
• ㅂ + ㅗ = 보
• ㅂ + ㅜ = 부 
• ㅂ + ㅡ = 브 
• ㅂ + ㅣ = 비 

🟡 ㅅ – 시옷 (Siot)

• ㅅ + ㅏ = 사 
• ㅅ + ㅓ = 서 
• ㅅ + ㅗ = 소
• ㅅ + ㅜ = 수
• ㅅ + ㅡ = 스
• ㅅ + ㅣ = 시

🟡 ㅇ – 이응 (Ieung)

When "ㅇ" is at the beginning of a syllable, it has no sound. But when it's at the end, it sounds like [ng]. We'll learn more about that later. For now, let's combine it with vowels:

• ㅇ + ㅏ = 아 
• ㅇ + ㅓ = 어
• ㅇ + ㅗ = 오
• ㅇ + ㅜ = 우
• ㅇ + ㅡ = 으
• ㅇ + ㅣ = 이 

🟡 ㅈ – 지읒 (Jieut)

• ㅈ + ㅏ = 자 
• ㅈ + ㅓ = 저 
• ㅈ + ㅗ = 조
• ㅈ + ㅜ = 주 
• ㅈ + ㅡ = 즈 
• ㅈ + ㅣ = 지 

🟡 ㅊ – 치읓 (Chieut)

• ㅊ + ㅏ = 차
• ㅊ + ㅓ = 처 
• ㅊ + ㅗ = 초 
• ㅊ + ㅜ = 추
• ㅊ + ㅡ = 츠
• ㅊ + ㅣ = 치 

🟡 ㅋ – 키읔 (Kieuk)

• ㅋ + ㅏ = 카
• ㅋ + ㅓ = 커 
• ㅋ + ㅗ = 코
• ㅋ + ㅜ = 쿠 
• ㅋ + ㅡ = 크 
• ㅋ + ㅣ = 키 

🟡 ㅌ – 티읕 (Tieut)

• ㅌ + ㅏ = 타 
• ㅌ + ㅓ = 터 
• ㅌ + ㅗ = 토
• ㅌ + ㅜ = 투 
• ㅌ + ㅡ = 트 
• ㅌ + ㅣ = 티 

🟡 ㅍ – 피읖 (Pieup)

• ㅍ + ㅏ = 파 
• ㅍ + ㅓ = 퍼 
• ㅍ + ㅗ = 포 
• ㅍ + ㅜ = 푸 
• ㅍ + ㅡ = 프 
• ㅍ + ㅣ = 피

🟡 ㅎ – 히읗 (Hieut)

• ㅎ + ㅏ = 하
• ㅎ + ㅓ = 허 
• ㅎ + ㅗ = 호
• ㅎ + ㅜ = 후
• ㅎ + ㅡ = 흐
• ㅎ +ㅣ = 히

"Now, let’s take a look at 'ㅊ' and 'ㅎ'. 

The key thing to remember is that the first stroke of these two letters is the same whether you draw it horizontally or vertically. So, you can freely draw the first stroke of 'ㅊ' and 'ㅎ' in any direction!"

2. Word Practice – Words Without Final Consonants (받침)

Now, let’s practice some simple words that consist only of an initial consonant and a vowel—no final consonants yet! We’ll learn about them soon. 

|👞구두 (gu-du)/ Shoes

|🥩고기 (go-gi)/ Meat

|🌳나무 (na-mu)/ Tree

|🌉다리 (da-ri)/ Bridge

|🏙️도시 (do-si)/ City

|🧠머리 (meo-ri)/ Head

|😊미소 (mi-so)/ Smile

|👖바지 (ba-ji)/ Pants

|🦐새우 (sae-u)/ Shrimp

|👶아기 (a-gi)/ Baby

|🌌우주 (u-ju)/ Space

|🥤주스 (ju-seu)/ Juice

|☕커피 (keo-pi)/ Coffee

|👃코 (ko)/ Nose

|🍅토마토 (to-ma-to)/ Tomato

|🎹피아노 (pi-a-no)/ Piano

|🍇포도 (po-do)/ Grapes

|👗치마 (chi-ma)/ Skirt

|🟡 허리 (heo-ri)/ Waist

|🥬채소 (chae-so)/ Vegetables

|🅿️주차 (ju-cha)/ Parking

|🚆기차 (gi-cha)/ Train

🎬 Wrap-Up

Today, we explored the basic Korean consonants and combined them with six basic vowels to create syllables like:

가, 나, 다, 라, 마, 바, 사, 아, 자, 차, 카, 타, 파, 하

You did an amazing job! 👏👏👏

📘 Coming Up Next

In our next lesson, we'll briefly review what we've learned and then dive into double consonants like ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ. These are formed by doubling certain consonants and have unique pronunciations. I can't wait to explore them with you!

📝 Homework Time!

Here’s your assignment:

Consonants we learned today:
👉 ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅎ

Vowels to practice with:
👉 ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅣ, ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅘ, ㅟ

Using these, try creating syllables by combining one consonant with one vowel. 

Syllable Chart 

📌 👉 Syllable Chart Download!

Write them down on paper and practice saying them out loud. We'll go over them together in our next class.

That’s the end of today’s lesson!
If you’d like more practice, check out the Super Beginner Korean Class Practice Shorts playlist.

You can review and repeat the pronunciation of what you learned today. The videos are short and easy to follow!

Thank you so much for your hard work today! Keep practicing, and I'll see you next time. Bye for now! 안녕~ 👋💛

Don't forget to watch Korean version too!!