Place of Articulation Meaning in Korean
When you make a consonant, one part of the mouth, the articulator, moves toward another part. The spot where they meet is the place of articulation. Say "p", "t" and "k" slowly and feel where the closure happens. For "p" it is the lips, for "t" the tongue tip, for "k" the back of the tongue.
Korean uses five places. The table lists them with the usual Korean labels.
| Place | Where | Korean letters | Korean label |
|---|---|---|---|
| lips | upper and lower lip | ㅂ ㅃ ㅍ ㅁ | 순음 |
| tongue tip | tongue tip and ridge behind upper teeth | ㄷ ㄸ ㅌ ㅅ ㅆ ㄴ ㄹ | 치조음 |
| hard palate | tongue blade and roof of the mouth | ㅈ ㅉ ㅊ | 경구개음 |
| soft palate | back of tongue and soft palate | ㄱ ㄲ ㅋ ㅇ (final) | 연구개음 |
| throat | the vocal cords | ㅎ | 후음 |
Two placements surprise many learners. The letter ㅈ is palatal because the front of the tongue rises toward the hard palate, the hard bony part of the roof, rather than touching the teeth. The letter ㄱ is velar because the back of the tongue meets the soft palate, which is also called the velum.
Why Does Place of Articulation Matter?
Place is one of the two coordinates on every consonant chart. The other is manner of articulation, which says how the air is released. Together they give each consonant an address.
Place also explains sound changes. Nasalization keeps the place and changes the manner: ㄱ becomes [ㅇ], ㄷ becomes [ㄴ], ㅂ becomes [ㅁ], so 국물 (soup broth) is spoken [궁물] with the ㄱ still at the soft palate. Palatalization changes the place itself. When ㄷ or ㅌ meet the vowel 이 across a suffix, they move to the palate and become ㅈ or ㅊ, so 같이 (together) is spoken [가치]. The lesson on Korean consonant sounds places every consonant on one grid.
Place of Articulation Versus Manner
Learners often mix the two. The table gives a quick test.
| Question | Place | Manner |
|---|---|---|
| It asks | where the closure is | how the air is released |
| Example for ㅂ | lips | stop |
| Example for ㅁ | lips | nasal |
| Number of Korean categories | five | five |
The letters ㅂ and ㅁ share a place and differ in manner. The letters ㅂ and ㄱ share a manner and differ in place.
What Are Examples of Place of Articulation?
Each of the four words starts with a consonant from a different place, from the lips back to the soft palate. In 바람 the final ㅁ is a second lip sound.
바람
baram
wind
다리
dari
leg, bridge
지도
jido
map
가구
gagu
furniture
The throat place has only one letter, ㅎ, as in 하나 (hana, one). Because ㅎ is made by breath passing through the open vocal cords, with no closure in the mouth, it is the only Korean consonant at this place.
What Do Learners Get Wrong about Place of Articulation?
Learners usually guess place by letter shape, since the shapes of ㄱ ㄴ ㅁ were designed to suggest the mouth. This is a useful memory aid for the basic consonants, but it does not carry over to every letter.
- ㅈ is not at the teeth. It is made behind the tooth ridge, at the front of the hard palate. English "j" is a good starting point.
- ㅅ sits in the tongue-tip row. Before 이 it moves closer to English "sh", but the label stays the same.
- ㅇ has no place at the start. It is silent as an onset. At the end it is velar.
This page gives labels, not full phonetic detail. The exact tongue position of ㅅ and ㅈ differs between speakers and charts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is place of articulation? Place of articulation is where in the mouth or throat a consonant is made. It is named by the parts that meet: the lips for ㅂ and ㅁ, the tongue tip for ㄷ and ㄴ, the hard palate for ㅈ, the back of the tongue for ㄱ and the throat for ㅎ. Charts use it as one axis.
Which place is ㅈ? ㅈ is made at the hard palate, the bony front part of the roof of the mouth. The front of the tongue rises toward it. Korean calls this place 경구개음. The place matters because 이 after ㄷ or ㅌ makes those sounds shift toward the same area, as in 같이 [가치].
How many places does Korean have? Korean consonants use five places: lips, tongue tip, hard palate, soft palate and throat. English has more, because it also uses teeth for "th" and the lip-and-teeth place for "f" and "v". Korean has no such sounds, which is why those English letters need a substitute.
What are the Korean terms? The usual labels are 순음 for the lips, 치조음 for the tongue tip, 경구개음 for the hard palate, 연구개음 for the soft palate and 후음 for the throat. Learners can use the English names throughout the lessons, and can return to the Korean terms later, when they start to read Korean grammar books or phonetics notes.
Related Terms and Lessons
Place of articulation meaning pairs with manner of articulation. The full grid is in the lesson on Korean consonant sounds, and the letters themselves are introduced under Hangul consonants. All terms are listed in the Korean Pronunciation Glossary.
