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| Visual Mnemonic of ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅈ, and ㅌ |
Hangul Memory Tricks: Visual Mnemonics Explained
The table below provides a concise reference for learning the 14 basic Korean consonants with their visual mnemonics and initial pronunciations.
|
Korean Consonant |
Visual Mnemonic |
Pronunciation (Initial
Position) |
|
ㄱ (giyeok) |
Gun |
"g" (as in
"go," soft, unaspirated) |
|
ㄴ (nieun) |
Nose |
"n" (as in
"nose") |
|
ㄷ (digeut) |
Desk |
"d" (as in
"desk," soft, unaspirated) |
|
ㄹ (rieul) |
River |
"r" (flap
sound, between "r" and "l") |
|
ㅁ (mieum) |
Mouth |
"m" (as in
"mouth") |
|
ㅂ (bieup) |
Bucket |
"b" (as in
"bucket," soft, unaspirated) |
|
ㅅ (siot) |
Splits (a person doing
the splits) |
"j" (as in
"split," soft "ch"/"j") |
|
ㅇ (ieung) |
Zer"o" |
Silent (no sound,
placeholder) |
|
ㅈ (jieut) |
Javelin |
"j" (as in
"javelin," soft "ch"/"j") |
|
ㅊ (chieut) |
Church (cross) |
"ch" (as in
"church," aspirated) |
|
ㅋ (kieuk) |
Key |
"k" (as in
"key," aspirated) |
|
ㅌ (tieut) |
Trident |
"t" (as in
"trident," aspirated) |
|
ㅍ (pieup) |
Pi symbol |
"p" (as in
"pi," aspirated) |
|
ㅎ (hieut) |
Hat over head |
"h" (as in
"hat") |
Notes:
- Pronunciation: The listed pronunciations apply to the initial position (choseong). In medial or batchim positions, some consonants change (e.g., ㅅ as batchim is pronounced "t").
- Visual Mnemonics: These are creative associations to aid memorization of the consonant shapes (e.g., ㄱ resembles a gun’s barrel, ㅍ looks like a Pi symbol).
- Aspirated vs. Unaspirated:
- Plain consonants (ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅈ) are unaspirated or lightly aspirated, softer than English equivalents.
- Aspirated consonants (ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅊ) have a strong puff of air.
- ㄹ is a flap "r" initially but often "l" in batchim.
- ㅇ is silent initially but "ng" in batchim (e.g., 강, gang).
- Example Usage:
- Combine with a vowel like ㅏ (a):
- ㄱ + ㅏ = 가 (ga)
- ㅅ + ㅏ = 사 (sa)
- ㅇ + ㅏ = 아 (a, silent initial)
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