Korean Alphabet 1
Course 1 · Chapter 4 · More Consonants
ㄷ ㄹ ㅂ — Three More Consonants
You know four consonants so far (ㅇ, ㄱ, ㄴ and ㅁ) and five vowels. Now add ㄷ ㄹ ㅂ. Two of them look like letters you already know, so this chapter spends time on telling them apart.
Your Next Three Letters — ㄷ ㄹ ㅂ
ㄷ
d (t)
between English "d" and "t", with the tongue tip on the ridge behind the teeth
Memory hook: a door frame: a lid, a wall and a floor. "D" for door.
ㄹ
r (l)
a quick tap of the tongue, between English "r" and "l"
Memory hook: a zigzag river: the tongue tapping its way along the roof of the mouth.
ㅂ
b (p)
between English "b" and "p", with the lips together
Memory hook: a bucket: a square with two handles. "B" for bucket.
The Pattern: d (t), b (p), g (k)
Wikipedia's table gives ㄷ at the start of a block as IPA /t/ (romanised d), ㅂ as /p/ (romanised b) and, from Chapter 3, ㄱ as /k/ (romanised g). These three letters are written with the voiced English letters but sit with the unvoiced sounds. English speakers will hear them as in between, which is why this course writes both: d (t), b (p), g (k). Chapter 8 contrasts them with their stronger partners ㅌ, ㅍ and ㅋ.
ㄹ at the End of a Block
The page gives ㄹ as /ɾ/ (romanised r) at the start of a block and as /ɭ/ (romanised l) at the end. So the romanisation of one letter changes with its place: r when it starts a block and l when it ends one. Chapter 9 covers final consonants in full.
The Block Grid
| ㅏ a | ㅣ i | ㅗ o | ㅜ u | ㅡ eu |
|---|
| ㄷ d | 다 da | 디 di | 도 do | 두 du | 드 deu |
|---|
| ㄹ r | 라 ra | 리 ri | 로 ro | 루 ru | 르 reu |
|---|
| ㅂ b | 바 ba | 비 bi | 보 bo | 부 bu | 브 beu |
|---|
These 15 blocks, plus the 15 from Chapter 3 and the five with the silent ㅇ, give you 35 blocks.
Look-Alike Warnings
- ㄷ and ㄴ. ㄷ has a lid on top (a door frame); ㄴ does not. 다 is "da", 나 is "na".
- ㅂ and ㅁ. ㅂ has two handles on top (a bucket); ㅁ is a plain square. 바 is "ba", 마 is "ma".
- ㄹ is the only zigzag, so it is easy to spot. Its block is read "ra" at the start of a word and (as you will see) "l" at the end.
Read It — Your First Longer Words
With twelve letters you can read a surprising amount. Say each block, then the whole word.
| # | Word | Romanisation | English | Note |
|---|
| 1 | 나라 | na-ra | country | na + ra |
| 2 | 바다 | ba-da | sea | see the Not Yet Verified box |
| 3 | 다리 | da-ri | leg; bridge | one spelling, two meanings; see the box |
| 4 | 바나나 | ba-na-na | banana | see the box |
| 5 | 라디오 | ra-di-o | radio | a word borrowed from English |
| 6 | 두부 | du-bu | tofu | see the box |
| 7 | 모두 | mo-du | everyone, all | see the box |
Not Yet Verified
The pronunciation values (ㄷ /t/, ㄹ /ɾ/ initial and /ɭ/ final, ㅂ /p/) are from Wikipedia's Hangul page (the first 100,000 of 212,572 characters), through a summary. The page tags the ㄹ values [citation needed] and does not discuss flap versus lateral or any restriction on ㄷ ㄹ ㅂ as final letters. It does not say how ㄷ, ㄹ and ㅂ were derived from earlier letters, so this chapter makes no claim about that; the memory hooks (door, river, bucket) are my own. A web search confirmed only 나라 "country" (a beginner flashcard list). The other six words and their meanings, including the two meanings of 다리, are from my own knowledge and are unchecked. The comparisons "between d and t", "between r and l" and "between b and p" are my own English approximations.
Sources for This Chapter
Wikipedia, "Hangul"; a web search on beginner Korean words (learning sites and a flashcard list).
Try It Yourself — 연습
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. Read these blocks aloud: 도 · 리 · 부 · 르 · 비 · 다
Show answer
do · ri · bu · reu · bi · da
2. How do you tell ㄷ from ㄴ, and ㅂ from ㅁ?
Show answer
ㄷ has a lid on top and ㄴ does not. ㅂ has two short strokes on top (handles) and ㅁ is a plain square.
3. Read these words: 나라 · 바나나 · 라디오 · 모두
Show answer
na-ra (country) · ba-na-na (banana) · ra-di-o (radio) · mo-du (everyone)
4. Write in Hangul: ba-da · du-bu · da-ri
Show answer
바다 · 두부 · 다리
5. The romanisation of ㄹ is not the same at the start of a block as at the end. What are the two values?
Show answer
r at the start of a block, l at the end.
6. Which three letters are written with a voiced English letter but sit with the unvoiced sounds?
Show answer
ㄱ (g, /k/), ㄷ (d, /t/) and ㅂ (b, /p/).
Coming Up in Chapter 5
The last three plain consonants: ㅅ ㅈ ㅎ. Together with the letters you know, they will let you read a large share of everyday Korean words.