Korean Pronunciation Glossary: Lessons and Practice

What Is the Korean Pronunciation Glossary?

The Korean pronunciation glossary is a reference list of sound terms with Korean examples. It covers only the terms the site's lessons use, not the whole of phonetics, so each entry earns its place. Entries are written for learners: the first sentence names the term and what it is, then examples and a comparison follow.

The glossary follows the Standard Korean described by the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) and its Standard Pronunciation Rules (표준 발음법). Where textbooks disagree, as with the number of Korean vowels, the entry says so. Korean words are written in Hangul, with Revised Romanization only as an aid, and brackets show how a word sounds when that differs from its spelling.

The next section helps you choose where to begin.

Where Should You Start with Korean Pronunciation Terms?

Start with the entry that matches the problem you are hearing, not with the first term in the list. The table maps common situations to starting entries.

If you are looking for a rule name such as liaison or tensification, go to the sound-change rules lessons instead; the glossary defines vocabulary and the lessons teach the rules. The first group of entries covers consonants.

What Do Consonant Terms Mean?

Consonant terms describe how a consonant is made: how much air, how much tension, whether the vocal cords vibrate and whether the mouth closes fully. Ten entries cover them, beginning with the three-way contrast that gives Korean its characteristic sound.

• Aspirated consonant meaning. The four letters ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅊ, released with a strong puff of breath. Korean calls them 격음.
• Tense consonant meaning. The five doubled letters ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ, made with a tight throat and almost no breath. Korean calls them 경음.
• Plain consonant meaning. The soft middle set ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ ㅅ ㅈ, called 평음; all of them except ㅅ become voiced between vowels.
• Unreleased stop meaning. A stop whose closure is held with no burst, as in the final ㅂ of 밥.
• Voicing meaning. The vibration of the vocal cords. Korean has no separate voiced letters, so ㄱ sounds like g between vowels, as in 아기.
• Voice onset time meaning. The delay, in milliseconds, between a stop's release and the start of vocal-cord vibration; the main measure behind the three-way contrast.
• Obstruent meaning. A consonant made by blocking or narrowing airflow: the stops, affricates and fricatives. Tensification and neutralization apply to this group.
• Sonorant meaning. A sound with free airflow, such as vowels, nasals and ㄹ. Sonorants are voiced.
• Nasal consonant meaning. The three Korean nasals ㄴ ㅁ ㅇ, made with air through the nose. Korean calls them 비음.
• Lateral and flap meaning. The two ways ㄹ is made: a quick tap between vowels, as in 나라, and side airflow at the end of a syllable, as in 물.

The vowel terms come next.

What Do Vowel Terms Mean?

Vowel terms describe whether a vowel keeps one shape or glides. Three entries cover the vocabulary, and they are best read together because each is defined against the other two.

• Monophthong meaning. A vowel that keeps one steady sound, like ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ ㅣ. Korean calls it 단모음.
• Diphthong meaning. A vowel that glides from one sound to another, as in ㅑ ㅘ ㅢ. Korean calls it 이중모음.
• Glide semivowel meaning. The very short y or w sound that begins vowels such as ㅑ or ㅘ.

Next, the terms for syllables and for the sound system as a whole.

What Do Syllable and Sound-System Terms Mean?

Syllable and sound-system terms explain where sounds sit in a block and how linguists classify them. Seven entries cover this group, and they underpin the reading of any consonant chart.

• Phoneme meaning. The smallest sound unit that can change a word, such as ㄱ versus ㅋ in 고 and 코.
• Allophone meaning. A variant way of saying one phoneme, such as ㄱ as g or k depending on position.
• IPA meaning for Korean. The International Phonetic Alphabet, read in square brackets; the site uses only a small set of symbols.
• Syllable coda meaning. The consonant that closes a syllable, written as batchim, as the ㄴ in 한.
• Jongseong meaning. The formal name 종성 for the final position of a block, the slot where batchim sits.
• Place of articulation meaning. Where in the mouth a consonant is made: lips, tongue tip, palate, back of the tongue or throat.
• Manner of articulation meaning. How air is released: as a stop, an affricate, a fricative, a nasal or a liquid.

Rules and prosody close the glossary.

Rule and Prosody Terms

Rule terms describe how sounds change in connected speech, and prosody terms describe rhythm and pitch above the level of single sounds. Seven entries cover both.

• Final consonant neutralization. The process that reduces 27 final spellings to seven sounds, so 낮 and 낫 sound the same alone.
• Assimilation meaning. A sound change in which a sound becomes more like its neighbour, as in 밥물 pronounced [밤물].
• Standard pronunciation rules. The official 표준 발음법, which this site follows for Standard Korean; spoken usage may differ from the text.
• Accentual phrase meaning. A short group of syllables with a typical Seoul pitch pattern. It is a research term.
• Pitch accent meaning. A word-level pattern of high and low pitch. Seoul Korean does not have it, but Gyeongsang dialects keep it.
• Prosody meaning. The rhythm and intonation of speech, the music above single sounds. Korean has no English-style word stress.
• Satoori meaning: 사투리 (saturi) is the Korean word for a regional dialect.

Placed side by side, the four groups show how the glossary fits together.

Comparing the Four Term Groups

The term groups differ in the question they answer and in how soon a beginner needs them. The table compares the four groups on this page.

The levels are the site's own tags, not exam levels. Beginners can read the A1 and A2 entries first and return to the others as lessons require them. The next section turns reading into practice.

Practice Routes for Pronunciation Terms

Practise a term by hearing the contrast it names, not by memorising its definition. After each entry, open one drill that uses the same vocabulary.

1. Train the three-way contrast with the plain, tense and aspirated minimal pairs.
2. Train steady and gliding vowels with the vowel minimal pairs.
3. Listen for the same sounds in the plain, tense and aspirated listening drill.
4. Review the vocabulary with the Hangul flashcard decks.
5. Print a reference sheet from the printable worksheets.

A study order ties these together.

Study Order at a Glance

A good first pass takes the entries in this order, which moves from what you can hear to why it happens.

1. Jongseong and coda: the slot at the bottom of a block.
2. Plain, aspirated and tense consonants: the three-way contrast.
3. Unreleased stop and final consonant neutralization: how the bottom letters sound.
4. Monophthong and diphthong: steady and gliding vowels.
5. Phoneme and allophone: why one letter has more than one sound.
6. Assimilation and the standard pronunciation rules: sound change in connected speech.

Questions that learners ask most often are answered below.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does aspirated mean in Korean? Aspirated means a consonant is followed by a strong puff of breath. Korean has four aspirated letters, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ and ㅊ, which textbooks call 격음 or 거센소리. They contrast with plain letters such as ㄱ and tense letters such as ㄲ. The aspirated consonant entry explains the paper test that lets you feel the puff.

What is the difference between a phoneme and an allophone? A phoneme is a sound unit that can change a word, such as ㄱ versus ㅋ in 고 and 코. An allophone is a variant of one phoneme that never changes a word, such as ㄱ sounding like g between vowels. Koreans hear the variants as one sound, which is why the letter stays the same.

Is there a glossary for sound change rules? Yes, in two parts. This glossary defines the rule vocabulary, such as neutralization, assimilation and standard pronunciation. The rule lessons themselves, such as tensification and nasalization, are in the sound-change rules section, with worked examples. Use the glossary to learn what a rule name means, and the lessons to practise applying it.

Which terms should beginners know? Beginners need five terms first: plain, tense and aspirated consonants for the three-way contrast, syllable coda for what ends a block, and final consonant neutralization for why 꽃 sounds like [꼳]. The remaining entries, such as voice onset time and accentual phrase, help later learners and teachers but are not needed in the first weeks.

Are the glossary terms the same in textbooks? Mostly, but not always. Textbooks may say "lenis" for plain, "fortis" for tense, or "받침" and "종성" for the final position. Each entry here lists the common alternatives and the Korean term. Counts such as the number of vowels also differ between guides, so check which convention a textbook uses.

Where the Glossary Fits in Korean Pronunciation

The Korean pronunciation glossary sits inside the wider Korean pronunciation section, which holds the sound lessons, batchim lessons and rule lessons that use these terms. If you are still learning the letters, begin with the Hangul alphabet and return here when a lesson uses a word you do not know.