Three consonant families
Read & notice
Compare 가, 카 and 까. The initial letters ㄱ, ㅋ and ㄲ belong to different consonant series. Similar patterns occur in ㄷ·ㅌ·ㄸ, ㅂ·ㅍ·ㅃ and ㅈ·ㅊ·ㅉ. The contrast involves aspiration and laryngeal timing, with pitch cues also relevant; it is not simply English g versus k.
First identify the written letter, then compare recordings from a reliable Korean course. This silent spelling exercise cannot measure how you pronounce the contrast.
Listen & connect
Listen, look at the word, then say it yourself. Synthetic Korean voice; replay as needed.
Listen first
Choose the word you hear.
ㄱ → ㅋ → ?
Compare 가, 카 and 까. The initial letters ㄱ, ㅋ and ㄲ belong to different consonant series. Similar patterns occur in ㄷ·ㅌ·ㄸ, ㅂ·ㅍ·ㅃ and ㅈ·ㅊ·ㅉ. The contrast involves aspiration and laryngeal timing, with pitch cues also relevant; it is not simply English g versus k.
ㄷ → ㅌ → ?
ㄸ — Compare 가, 카 and 까. The initial letters ㄱ, ㅋ and ㄲ belong to different consonant series. Similar patterns occur in ㄷ·ㅌ·ㄸ, ㅂ·ㅍ·ㅃ and ㅈ·ㅊ·ㅉ. The contrast involves aspiration and laryngeal timing, with pitch cues also relevant; it is not simply English g versus k.
Reference & extension
Answer every check correctly to complete this lesson.
Sources & further reading
Facts checked against these sources; explanations are independently written.
National Institute of Korean Language ↗Online King Sejong Institute ↗