Key facts
- Plain consonants are the base from which the tense and aspirated sets are named.
Plain Consonant Meaning in Korean
A plain consonant is the default, unmarked version of a Korean consonant. Linguists call it lenis, which means "weak" or "soft". It is produced with a relaxed throat and only a light breath after the release. The tense and aspirated consonants are built on top of it: the tense letters are plain letters written twice, and the aspirated letters ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅊ pair with ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ ㅈ.
Some guides list only ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ ㅈ, the four letters that have both partners. This site includes ㅅ, because ㅅ has a tense partner (ㅆ) and Korean grammar books class it as 평음, although it has no aspirated partner.
| Plain letter | Tense partner | Aspirated partner | Plain example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ (g/k) | ㄲ | ㅋ | 가다 (to go) |
| ㄷ (d/t) | ㄸ | ㅌ | 달 (moon) |
| ㅂ (b/p) | ㅃ | ㅍ | 바다 (sea) |
| ㅅ (s) | ㅆ | none | 사다 (to buy) |
| ㅈ (j) | ㅉ | ㅊ | 자다 (to sleep) |
Plain stops change with position, which is why romanization shows two letters such as g/k. Listen to 가다 (to go), which has a plain ㄱ at the start and a plain ㄷ between vowels.
At the start of a word the ㄱ is light and slightly breathy, so English speakers hear it as "k". Between vowels the same letter is voiced and is heard as "g". Korean speakers hear one sound, and the lesson on consonant voicing explains why. The same table shows how plain differs from its two neighbours.
Plain Versus Aspirated and Tense Consonants
Plain consonants differ from aspirated and tense ones in breath and in throat tension: plain is light and relaxed, aspirated is strongly breathed, and tense is breathless and tight. The table uses the lip consonants.
| Feature | Tense ㅃ | Plain ㅂ | Aspirated ㅍ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breath after release | almost none | light | strong puff |
| Throat | tight | relaxed | open, with a breath |
| Voiced between vowels | no | yes | no |
| Example | 뿔 (horn) | 불 (fire) | 풀 (grass) |
The voicing row is the part many courses skip. Because plain stops voice between vowels and the others do not, voicing is a side effect of position and not a feature that Korean uses to separate words. Next come the examples.
What Are Examples of Plain Consonants?
Four everyday words show four plain letters at the start of a word, each followed by a plain ㄷ that is voiced between the vowels.
가다
gada
to go
바다
bada
sea
자다
jada
to sleep
사다
sada
to buy
In 바다 the first consonant, ㅂ, is light and the second, ㄷ, is voiced between vowels, so a listener may hear [bada]. Learners can treat these as one letter with two natural pronunciations. That idea explains the most common mistake.
What Do Learners Get Wrong about Plain Consonants?
Learners most often assume that ㄱ is "g" and ㅋ is "k", so they pronounce plain ㄱ with a hard English "g" everywhere. In fact plain ㄱ is voiceless and lightly breathed at the start of a word, and the "g" sound appears only between vowels. A learner who says 가다 with a strong, voiced "g" is understood, but sounds foreign.
Two further points help:
- Plain is not the same as soft in volume. The word describes breath and tension, not loudness.
- Plain-type stops are the only stops that end a syllable. At the end of a syllable the only stop sounds are [ㄱ], [ㄷ] and [ㅂ], and they are unreleased, as in 박, 밭 and 밥. See unreleased stop for the sound.
Remember that plain means the default member of each set. The questions below follow from it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a plain consonant? A plain consonant is the soft middle member of the Korean three-way consonant set. It is made with a relaxed throat and a light breath, between the tight tense sound and the puffed aspirated sound. The five plain consonants are ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ and ㅈ, and Korean grammar books call them 평음 or 예사소리.
Is ㄱ plain? Yes. ㄱ is the plain velar consonant, made with the back of the tongue. It is paired with tense ㄲ and aspirated ㅋ. Its sound changes with position: light and slightly breathy at the start of a word, as in 가다, voiced between vowels, as in 아기, and unreleased at the end of a syllable, as in 박.
Why do plain consonants voice? Plain stops voice between vowels because the vocal cords are already vibrating for the vowels on both sides, and a light, relaxed consonant does not stop them. Tense and aspirated stops involve stiff or opened vocal cords, so they stay voiceless. Korean speakers hear the voiced and voiceless versions of ㄱ as one sound.
What is 평음? 평음 (pyeongeum) is the Korean term for plain consonants. The first character means "level" or "even", and 예사소리 (yesasori) is a second term that means "ordinary sound". Textbooks use both. Together with 경음 (tense) and 격음 (aspirated), they make up the three-way set that learners must hear to tell many Korean words apart.
Related Terms and Lessons
Plain consonant meaning completes the set with two sibling terms: the aspirated consonant and the tense consonant. Look up other sound terms in the Korean Pronunciation Glossary, and train your ear with the plain, tense and aspirated minimal pairs.
