📈 Understanding Korean Proficiency Levels & TOPIK Alignment

Learn Korean consonants fast. Master 10 core Hangul consonants with mouth-shape tips, minimal pairs, and instant reading practice—plus 3 actionable tasks today

📚 Series Overview — “Learn Hangul Online”

This absolute-beginner series teaches you to read Hangul step by step—short practice, online tools, and official resources included.

1. #1 Why Hangul Is Easy + Syllable Block Basics
2. #2 Consonants (자음) — Read Your First Words 🔥
3. #3 Vowels (모음) — Build More Syllables
4. #4 Batchim (Final Consonants) — Real-life Reading
5. #5 Typing & Tools — Phone/PC Setup + Practice Routes

Beginner Series — 시작이 반이에요! 꾸준하게 하면서 실력을 쌓아봐요. ✨

This is Part 2 of our “Learn Hangul Online” mini-series for absolute beginners.

🎯 Learning Goal

• Master the core 10 consonants (ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅎ) with simple mouth-shape tips.
• Blend C+V to read your first everyday words confidently.
• KR: 기본 자음을 익히고 간단한 단어를 소리 내어 읽을 수 있게 합니다.

📑 Table of Contents

Click to expand

1. Consonants Map (10)
2. Mouth-Shape Tips & Minimal Pairs
3. Read Your First Words
4. Quick Quiz (Reveal to Check)
5. ✅ Your Turn: 3 Action Tasks (CTA)
6. Teacher’s Tips
7. Did You Know?
8. Extra Resources
9. Related Lessons
10. Final Thoughts

1) Consonants Map (10)

Core set: ㄱ(g/k), ㄴ(n), ㄷ(d/t), ㄹ(r/l), ㅁ(m), ㅂ(b/p), ㅅ(s), ㅇ(∅/ng), ㅈ(j), ㅎ(h)

• ㅇ is silent at the start (아=a) and sounds like ng at the end (강=gang).
• ㄱ/ㄷ/ㅂ may sound softer or harder depending on position; don’t worry yet—just match the block to a rough sound.
• We’ll add the strong “double” consonants (ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ) later.

2) Mouth-Shape Tips & Minimal Pairs

• ㄱ vs ㅋ → both back of tongue; ㄱ is softer (가/카).
• ㄷ vs ㅌ → front of tongue tap vs stronger puff (다/타).
• ㅂ vs ㅍ → lips touch; ㅍ has more air (바/파).
• ㅅ before ㅣ sounds like see (시=shi/si).
• ㄹ is a quick tap/flap (라), not a long English R or L.

Say these pairs slowly → quickly:

가–카 / 다–타 / 바–파 / 사–샤 / 라–나

3) Read Your First Words

Try first. Click to reveal reading + meaning.

나라

나라 — nara — country

사과

사과 — sagwa — apple

고기

고기 — gogi — meat

바다

바다 — bada — sea

한국

한국 — hanguk — Korea

지도

지도 — jido — map

4) Quick Quiz (Reveal to Check)

Which consonant starts these words?

__ + 아 → 가

Answer: ㄱ (ga)

__ + 이 → 미

Answer: ㅁ (mi)

__ + 오 → 조

Answer: ㅈ (jo)

✅ Your Turn: 3 Action Tasks (CTA)

1. Build 12 blocks in 3 minutes. Write aloud: 가 거 고 구 그 기 / 나 너 노 누 느 니. If you can, type them on your phone/PC too.
2. Read 6 real words from the list above (나라, 사과, 고기, 바다, 한국, 지도). Cover the answer, read first, then reveal. Repeat 2x faster.
3. Record a 20-second voice note saying: “가–카, 다–타, 바–파, 사–샤, 라–나.” Listen once and mark which pair is hardest. 

         Get feedback in class →

👩‍🏫 Teacher’s Tips

Don’t chase perfect pronunciation yet. Link the block shape to a rough sound first, then refine later with listening/shadowing.

발음을 완벽하게 하려 하기보다, 블록 모양과 소리를 먼저 연결하세요. 이후에 듣기와 쉐도잉으로 다듬으면 됩니다.

💡 Did You Know?

In many fonts, ㅅ looks sharp but it isn’t “sh” by default; it becomes “shi” only before ㅣ (시).

글꼴에 따라 ㅅ 모양이 날카로워 보여도 기본 발음은 s에 가깝고, ㅣ 앞에서만 “시(shi/si)”에 가깝게 들려요.

🔗 Extra Resources (Official)

• National Institute of Korean Language (NIKL)
• King Sejong Institute
• TOPIK Official

I’ll keep adding printable drills for consonant practice.

📌 Related Lessons

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🧭 Final Thoughts

Great work! You can already read several words with just 10 consonants. Next, we’ll add the core vowels to multiply your reading power.

잘하셨어요! 자음 10개만으로도 여러 단어를 읽을 수 있습니다. 다음 글에서는 핵심 모음을 더해 읽기 실력을 확장해요.

About the Author
I’m a Korean teacher helping beginners read with confidence. Take my class on italki for pronunciation coaching and reading drills. 🎓

Tags: Learn Hangul, Korean consonants, Beginner Korean, 한글 자음, Korean alphabet, ハングル 子音

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