The Korean Letter ㅊ (Chieut): Sound, Strokes and Example Words

What you'll learn (about 20 minutes, no prerequisites except knowing the letter ㅈ)

• Say ㅊ with a clear puff of air.
• Write ㅊ in 3 strokes and recognise it in different fonts.
• Read ㅊ at the start, middle and end of a word, including 꽃 [꼳] and 꽃이 [꼬치].
• Tell 자다, 차다 and 짜다 apart by ear.

What Does the Korean Letter ㅊ Sound Like?

The Korean letter ㅊ sounds like the ch in "cheese" with an extra burst of breath. It belongs to the family of aspirated consonants: sounds followed by a puff of air that escapes right after the tongue releases. In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), a worldwide sound-writing system, ㅊ is written [tɕʰ]. The small raised ʰ marks the puff.

Try this. Hold your hand in front of your mouth and say "cheese" firmly. You feel air on the ch. Now say 차 with the same push. That is ㅊ. The plain letter ㅈ, in contrast, is softer: the air is gentle and the sound sits between a quiet English j and a quiet ch.

The table gives the clearest first words with ㅊ. Each has an audio button so you can hear the puff.

Revised Romanization (RR) is South Korea's official system for writing Korean in Latin letters. This page shows it only as a learning aid; always read the Hangul first.

A fun first word is 차. It means both "tea" and "car". The two words come from different Chinese-origin roots (茶 for tea, 車 for car) and are written the same way in Hangul, so context decides which one you mean. Both start with the same puffed ch.

How Is ㅊ Different from the English Ch?

The Korean ㅊ differs from the English ch in two ways: the puff is stronger and more consistent, and ㅊ stays voiceless between vowels. In English, ch in "teacher" is the same sound everywhere. In Korean, the plain letter ㅈ turns slightly voiced between vowels (it moves toward a j in "judge"), while ㅊ does not. So in 김치, the ㅊ stays crisp and breathy, but the ㅈ in a word like 아주 (very) is softer.

There is also a small difference in tongue position: Korean ch is usually described as more palatal, with a flatter tongue blade, than English ch. The difference is small. If you say "cheese" with a firm push of air, listeners will recognise ㅊ.

Now that the sound is clear, look at why the letter has this shape.

Why Does ㅊ Look Like ㅈ with an Extra Stroke?

The letter ㅊ is built from ㅈ by adding one short stroke on top. This follows the principle of 가획 (gahoek, "adding a stroke") described in 1446 in the commentary 훈민정음 해례본 (Hunminjeongeum Haerye): a stronger sound gets an extra line. The idea works for each aspirated letter:

The practical gain is a memory shortcut: if you know ㅈ, you know most of ㅊ. See the lesson on the plain letter ㅈ for the base shape, and Korean aspirated consonants for the full family.

The shape also changes slightly from font to font, which is the next topic.

How to Write ㅊ in 3 Strokes

Write ㅊ in three strokes: a short top tick, then a bar that turns down to the left, then the right-falling stroke. This is the order taught in Korean school handwriting, and it matches the 2-stroke ㅈ taught on this site.

1. Stroke 1: Draw a short tick at the very top, in the centre. In many sans-serif fonts it is a short horizontal bar; in many serif fonts it is a small slanted or vertical dash; in handwriting it is often a quick slanted dot.
2. Stroke 2: Draw a horizontal bar underneath, left to right, and without lifting the pen turn it into a stroke falling down to the left. This is the top and left side of the ㅈ shape.
3. Stroke 3: Draw a short stroke falling down to the right, starting from the middle of the left-falling stroke.

You will know it worked when the letter looks like ㅈ with a small mark centred above it, and the mark does not touch the bar.

Counting note: some print-style charts write the bar and the left-falling stroke as two separate strokes, giving 4 strokes for ㅊ. This lesson writes them as one connected movement, so the total is 3. The shape and the order do not change either way.

The most common slip is leaving out the top tick, which turns ㅊ into ㅈ and changes the sound. Check that the tick is present before you move on.

Because fonts differ, it helps to see two forms side by side:

All three are the same letter. Next is how ㅊ behaves in a word.

ㅊ at the Start, Middle and End of a Word

The letter ㅊ is pronounced [tɕʰ] before a vowel in every position, and it changes only at the end of a syllable. The table below gives one example for each position.

ㅊ as a Final Consonant: [t]

When ㅊ closes a syllable, it is pronounced [t] with no puff. This follows the South Korean standard pronunciation rules (표준 발음법), published by the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원), which reduce every final consonant to one of seven sounds. The letters ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ and ㅎ at the end of a syllable all become [t].

Three useful words:

• 꽃 (flower) is pronounced [꼳] (kkot).
• 빛 (light) is pronounced [빋] (bit).
• 몇 (how many) is pronounced [멷] (myeot).

Romanization follows the sound here. RR writes ㅊ as "ch" at the start but "t" at the end (친구 chingu, 꽃 kkot). So ㅊ is the one aspirated letter whose romanization changes letters, not just the puff.

For the full list of final sounds, see the 7 final sounds. The rule is called batchim (받침), the consonant written at the bottom of a syllable block.

Linking ㅊ into the Next Syllable

When a word ending in ㅊ meets a particle or ending that starts with a vowel, the ㅊ moves across intact and its puff returns. This is liaison (연음): the final consonant jumps into the empty ㅇ of the next syllable.

• 꽃 + 이 (subject marker) is written 꽃이 and pronounced [꼬치] (kkochi): "the flower".
• 꽃 + 을 (object marker) is written 꽃을 and pronounced [꼬츨] (kkocheul).
• 빛 + 이 is written 빛이 and pronounced [비치] (bichi): "the light".

Compare: alone, 꽃 ends in a quiet [t]. Before a vowel, ㅊ comes back with its puff: [치]. The written spelling never changes. More on this is in the lesson on liaison.

A second rule makes a ㅊ sound from two letters. When ㅈ meets ㅎ, they merge into [ㅊ]: 맞히다 (to hit the mark, to guess right) is pronounced [마치다]. This is the aspiration rule.

With the positions covered, you can read whole words.

Worked Example: Reading 친구, 김치 and 꽃

The way to read any block with ㅊ is to split it into its letters, say each part, and join them. This example uses three words from the table.

Word 1: 친구 (friend).

1. The first block 친 has three letters: ㅊ at the top left, ㅣ beside it, ㄴ at the bottom. Say "chin" with a puff on the ch.
2. The second block 구 is ㄱ + ㅜ. Between the nasal ㄴ and the vowel, ㄱ softens to [g].
3. Join: 친구 [친구] (chingu).

Word 2: 김치 (kimchi).

1. 김 is ㄱ + ㅣ + ㅁ, "gim".
2. 치 is ㅊ + ㅣ, "chi" with a puff.
3. Join: 김치 [김치] (gimchi). Note the English spelling "kimchi" is a loan spelling, not RR.

Word 3: 꽃 (flower).

1. The block 꽃 is ㄲ + ㅗ + ㅊ. ㄲ is tense, ㅗ is a horizontal vowel, ㅊ is the final consonant.
2. At the end, ㅊ is [t]: 꽃 [꼳] (kkot). Stop the sound; no puff.

Practise any block with the hangul syllable builder, or look up every letter in the interactive hangul alphabet.

With the three words read, the next step is hearing how ㅊ differs from its neighbours.

자다 / 차다 / 짜다: Hearing the Difference

The three-way contrast 자다 / 차다 / 짜다 is the best test of whether you hear ㅊ correctly. Korean has three kinds of ch/j sounds, and each one changes the meaning of the word.

Use the paper-strip test: hold a thin strip of paper in front of your lips and say each word.

1. 차다: the strip should flutter clearly.
2. 자다: the strip moves only a little.
3. 짜다: the strip stays still.

Many Seoul speakers also start the vowel on a higher pitch after ㅊ than after ㅈ. Treat this as a typical tendency, not a rule; train the puff first.

For all three series together, see plain, tense and aspirated sounds. For the tense partner, open the tense letter ㅉ.

Knowing the contrast helps with the next section on mistakes.

Which Mistakes Do Learners Make with ㅊ?

Most learners make one of five predictable errors with ㅊ. Each has a quick fix.

Common misconception: Learners often assume that ㅊ always sounds the same wherever it is written. Actually, ㅊ keeps its sound before a vowel, but at the end of a syllable it becomes [t], because Korean syllables can close with only seven sounds. The spelling shows the "real" letter, the pronunciation shows the surface sound.

Limitation: Written descriptions of breath cannot replace a human speaker, and the audio on this page is generated and awaits review by a Korean specialist. Use it as a guide alongside real recordings.

Now try the practice set.

Practice: Read and Hear ㅊ

Do each exercise before looking at the answers.

Exercise 1: Read aloud. Say each word with a puff on every ㅊ:

• 치마
• 춤
• 책
• 친구

Exercise 2: Write. Write ㅊ five times in three strokes each, then write 차 and 치마.

Exercise 3: Choose. Which one is aspirated: 자다, 차다 or 짜다?

Exercise 4: Final sound. How do you pronounce 꽃 alone? How do you pronounce 꽃이?

Exercise 5: Listening drill. Play the three words in the contrast table in random order five times and write what you heard. A score of 4 out of 5 means you can move on.

For extra practice, use the Hangul flashcard decks, the Hangul listening quizzes and the aspirated consonants worksheet.

Answers to the Practice

1. 치마 (chima), 춤 (chum), 책 (chaek), 친구 (chingu). Every ㅊ has a puff.
2. Three strokes: the top tick, the bar that turns down to the left, then the right-falling stroke.
3. 차다 (to be cold; to kick) has aspirated ㅊ.
4. Alone: [꼳]. With 이: [꼬치].
5. A score of 4 or 5 out of 5 means you can hear the difference. Below 4, replay slowly and repeat the paper-strip test.

With practice done, here is where to go next.

What Should You Learn after ㅊ?

After ㅊ, learn the tense (double) consonants, beginning with ㄲ. Continue with the next letter lesson, ㄲ (ssanggiyeok), which completes the picture of plain, aspirated and tense sounds.

Scope of this lesson: this page covers ㅊ only. It does not cover the full batchim system, which is in the 7 final sounds, or every stroke-order rule, which is in stroke order for consonants.

Suggested path:

1. Revisit the plain letter ㅈ if the contrast felt unclear.
2. Check the Korean consonants chart to see ㅊ beside its partners.
3. Learn every consonant name in Korean consonant names.
4. Move on to the tense letters.

Everything on this page comes down to one fact: the Korean letter ㅊ is ㅈ plus a puff of air, and at the end of a syllable it sounds like [t].

Frequently Asked Questions