Day 2: Basic Consonants
*Better on PC!
OK, you did most of the heavy lifting on Day 1: Vowels. Now all you have to do is put together the consonants and the vowels. There's a lot of memorization involved, but not too much new information. No problem, right?
So we have 14 consonants and 10 vowels. As I mentioned yesterday, there are 2 ways to put consonants and vowels together. They can go from left to right:
가
...or they can go from top to bottom:
고
It all depends on the vowel. Check out the nifty graphic below. And click on the combinations to hear the pronunciation of them.
*Extra: did you notice some weird pronunciation in there? This consonant 'ㅅ' is similar to the English 's'. But when you add a sharp 'ee' or 'y' sound (with the vowel ㅣ or ㅑ for example), it turns into more of a mild 'sh' sound.
Here's another graphic showing all the consonants and how they look with both vertical (ㅣ) and horizontal (ㅡ) vowels:
Try the matching and dictation activities below.↓↓↓
Hey, did you click on the combinations above? Our tech nerd keeps droning on about how hard he worked at it, so do him a favor and try a few out.
Here's some stuff to keep in mind:
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The consonant always comes first. It's either the left of the left to right combination (가), or the top of the top to bottom combination (고)
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You never see a solo consonant or solo vowel (well, sometimes you do: see below*) . If there's no consonant sound, you need to use the placeholder consonant 'ㅇ'
*Fun fact: If you see a solo consonant or a solo vowel, you're looking at internet shorthand. Examples:
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ㅋㅋ means 'lol'
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ㅠㅠ means 'sad' or 'crying' (Looks like two shut eyes with tears, right?)
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Notice how the consonants often look a little taller with vertical vowels and a little flatter with horizontal vowels.
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The consonant 'ㅅ' is usually pronounced like 's', but sometimes like 'sh', depending on the vowel.
OK, try matching some combinations and sounds in the 12 flashcards below. ↓↓↓
Not bad!! Now let's review: Can you match the words and the meanings?↓↓↓
*Pro-tip: This activity only shows 6/14 sounds. If you want a new set of random cards, hit that red button.
OK, let's level you up. Below is the more of the same, only harder. 16 cards, and 35 possible sounds! If that's doable, try the dictation on the right. You can either just type the consonant you hear, or both the consonant and vowel, if you're a wild man (or woman). Have at it.
Try the matching and dictation activities below.↓↓↓
*Pro-tip: This activity only shows 8/35 sounds. If you want a new set of random cards, hit that PLAY AGAIN button.
Enough kids play! Let's check out some real words: some of the cards below are a review of the words you learned yesterday, and some are words borrowed from the English language. See if you can figure them out.↓↓↓
Understand the vowels and consonants? Let's go to DAY 3: Final Consonants to see one more way Korean words are put together! →
