How can I practise 자음 소리?

Step Ahead Korean offers free exercises on 자음 소리 with instant marking, answers and explanations in Hindi. You can also take timed tests.

Is 자음 소리 useful for TOPIK?

This topic is part of the Korean programme useful for TOPIK I, TOPIK II and school exams. Practising with exam-style questions improves accuracy and speed.

자음 소리

Hangul & Pronunciation 1

Korean has fourteen basic consonants, and several of them come in plain, tense and aspirated versions. Air pressure, not voicing, separates these sets.

Hangul & Pronunciation — Jamo, syllable blocks, batchim and the basic sound changes.

Lesson

Fourteen basic consonants

The fourteen basic consonants are ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ. Korean also distinguishes plain, tense and aspirated consonants, so ㄱ, ㄲ and ㅋ are three different sounds, not three spellings of one.

चौदह मूल व्यंजन हैं: ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ। कोरियन साधारण, कठोर और महाप्राण व्यंजनों में भी भेद करता है, इसलिए ㄱ, ㄲ और ㅋ तीन अलग ध्वनियाँ हैं, एक ही ध्वनि के तीन रूप नहीं।

Plain, aspirated and tense

Plain: ㄱ g, ㄷ d, ㅂ b, ㅈ j, ㅅ s. Aspirated: ㅋ k, ㅌ t, ㅍ p, ㅊ ch. Tense: ㄲ kk, ㄸ tt, ㅃ pp, ㅆ ss, ㅉ jj. Initial ㅇ is silent and final ㅇ sounds like ng.

साधारण: ㄱ = g, ㄷ = d, ㅂ = b, ㅈ = j, ㅅ = s। महाप्राण: ㅋ = k, ㅌ = t, ㅍ = p, ㅊ = ch। कठोर: ㄲ = kk, ㄸ = tt, ㅃ = pp, ㅆ = ss, ㅉ = jj। आरंभिक ㅇ निर्वाक् है और अंतिम ㅇ ng जैसा सुनाई देता है।

One consonant per word

가방 (bag), 다리 (leg), 바다 (sea), 사과 (apple), 자동차 (car), 코 (nose), 학교 (school). Each word begins with a different consonant, so read the first block carefully.

가방 (बैग), 다리 (पैर), 바다 (समुद्र), 사과 (सेब), 자동차 (कार), 코 (नाक), 학교 (स्कूल)। हर शब्द अलग व्यंजन से शुरू होता है, इसलिए पहला खंड ध्यान से पढ़ें।

Ignoring the puff of air

Learners often make ㅋ, ㅌ and ㅍ identical to English k, t and p, and they mix up ㅅ and ㅆ. Aspirated consonants need a clear puff of air; tense consonants need a tight throat with no puff. Initial ㅇ has no sound at all.

शिक्षार्थी प्रायः ㅋ, ㅌ और ㅍ को अंग्रेज़ी के k, t और p जैसा बना देते हैं, और ㅅ तथा ㅆ में भ्रम करते हैं। महाप्राण व्यंजनों में हवा का स्पष्ट झोंका चाहिए; कठोर व्यंजनों में गला कसा रहता है और हवा का झोंका नहीं। आरंभिक ㅇ की कोई ध्वनि नहीं होती।

The paper test

Hold a sheet of paper in front of your mouth. It should move for ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ and ㅊ, and stay still for ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ and ㅉ.

अपने मुँह के सामने कागज़ की एक पत्ती रखें। ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ और ㅊ पर वह हिलनी चाहिए, और ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ तथा ㅉ पर स्थिर रहनी चाहिए।

Practice questions

Q1. 다음 중 ㅅ으로 시작하는 단어는?

इनमें से कौन-सा शब्द ㅅ से शुरू होता है?

사과
바다
가방
코

Answer: 사과

💡 사과의 첫 음절 사는 ㅅ으로 시작해요.

Q2. ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ은 ___ 자음이에요.

ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ ___ व्यंजन हैं।

Answer: 된소리

💡 ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ은 목에 힘을 주고 내는 된소리예요.

Q3. 코

코 का उच्चारण लिखें।

Answer: ko

💡 코는 거센소리 ㅋ으로 시작하므로 "ko"라고 읽어요.

Practise and test yourself

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