Learn Korean with MANNAM 3. How do you read Hangeul?

3. How do you read Hangeul?

Consnants

(1) Consonant Articulation
The consonants of the Hangeul alphabet were designed so their shapes would reflect the place and manner of articuation. The shapes of the 5 basic consonants reflect the 5 different methods of articulation. The remaining consonants are adaptations of these shapes.

(2) Aspirated Consonants
The 4 consonants can be classified into three grops by their airflow mechanism. Notice that the aspirated form of the plain consonants differ only by one line; this extra line indicates that the consonants only differ by an added aspiration.

(3) Consonant Pronunciations

* 1. A 'ㅎ' in the final position by itself makes a 't' sound, but when preceding a consonant it often serves to alter the pronunciation of that consonant to its aspirated form. For example, if the following syllable block starts with 'ㄱ', then the 'ㄱ' is converted to a 'ㅋ' sound. The same follows for 'ㄷ'  (ㄷ -> ㅌ), 'ㅂ' (ㅂ -> ㅍ), and 'ㅈ' (ㅈ -> ㅊ).

 

좋고 -> [조코]

좋다 -> [조타]

2. If the 'ㅎ' precedes a vowel, then the 'ㅎ' becomes nearly silent.

좋아요 -> [조아요]