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Lesson 7. Tense Consonants & Remaining Compound Vowels
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Lesson 7. Tense Consonants & Remaining Compound Vowels
Chapter 1. Hangul Mastery · Week 1 · Prerequisites: Lessons 3–6 · Est. time: ~30 min (review included)
Learning Objectives
- Produce the 5 tense consonants (ㄲㄸㅃㅆㅉ)
- Distinguish the three-way plain / aspirated / tense contrast (가-카-까)
- Read the remaining compound vowels (ㅘㅙㅚㅝㅞㅟㅢ)
- Know the three pronunciations of ㅢ
Warm-up Review
- What are the 7 representative batchim sounds? (→ ㄱㄴㄷㄹㅁㅂㅇ)
- Read aloud: 밥, 꽃[꼳], 한국
Main Lesson
1. The three-way consonant contrast
Korean has a contrast English doesn't: plain – aspirated – tense.
| Plain | Aspirated (lots of air) | Tense (throat tightened) |
|---|---|---|
| ㄱ 가 (ga) | ㅋ 카 (ka) | ㄲ 까 (kka) |
| ㄷ 다 (da) | ㅌ 타 (ta) | ㄸ 따 (tta) |
| ㅂ 바 (ba) | ㅍ 파 (pa) | ㅃ 빠 (ppa) |
| ㅈ 자 (ja) | ㅊ 차 (cha) | ㅉ 짜 (jja) |
| ㅅ 사 (sa) | — | ㅆ 싸 (ssa) |
How to feel the difference:
- Aspirated (ㅋㅌㅍㅊ): Hold your palm in front of your mouth — a strong puff of air = aspirated.
- Tense (ㄲㄸㅃㅆㅉ): No air puff. Tighten your throat and vocal cords and release a short, hard sound.
- Tense consonants feel similar to Italian double consonants, or the hard "D" in an annoyed "Duh!"
Meaning changes!
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 방 (bang) | room |
| 빵 (ppang) | bread |
| 달 (dal) | moon |
| 딸 (ttal) | daughter |
| 탈 (tal) | mask |
2. Remaining compound vowels
Following ㅐ/ㅔ from Lesson 3, we now complete the set. The principle: ㅗ/ㅜ combined with another vowel — say them quickly as one sound.
| Vowel | Combination | Sound | Example word |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅘ | ㅗ+ㅏ | wa | 과일 (fruit) |
| ㅙ | ㅗ+ㅐ | wae | 왜 (why) |
| ㅚ | ㅗ+ㅣ | we/oe | 회사 (company) |
| ㅝ | ㅜ+ㅓ | wo | 뭐 (what) |
| ㅞ | ㅜ+ㅔ | we | 웨딩 (wedding) |
| ㅟ | ㅜ+ㅣ | wi | 귀 (ear) |
| ㅢ | ㅡ+ㅣ | ui | 의자 (chair) |
Practical tip: In modern speech, ㅙ, ㅚ, and ㅞ all sound like [we]. Just like ㅐ/ㅔ, memorize the spellings word by word.
3. The three pronunciations of ㅢ
| Position | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| At the start of a word | [의] ui | 의사 [의사] (doctor) |
| Anywhere else | [이] i | 회의 [회이] (meeting) |
| The possessive particle 의 (of) | [에] e | 나의 책 [나에] (my book) |
Key Expressions & Vocabulary
| Korean | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| 오빠 | o-ppa | older brother (of a female) |
| 아까 | a-kka | a moment ago |
| 싸요 | ssa-yo | it's cheap |
| 과일 | gwa-il | fruit |
| 왜 | wae | why |
| 뭐 | mwo | what |
| 의자 | ui-ja | chair |
Minimal-Pair Listening
Listen and identify which of the three you hear:
- 가 — 카 — 까 (ga / ka / kka)
- 다 — 타 — 따 (da / ta / tta)
- 바 — 파 — 빠 (ba / pa / ppa)
- 자 — 차 — 짜 (ja / cha / jja)
- 사 — 싸 (sa / ssa)
Practice
A. Three-way contrast — Tell the meanings apart.
- 방 / 빵 — which one is "bread"? 2. 달 / 딸 — which one is "daughter"?
B. Read the compound vowels 3. 과일 4. 귀 5. 뭐 6. 왜 7. 회사
C. Pronounce ㅢ 8. 의사 — how do you read the ㅢ? 9. 회의 — how about the second syllable 의? 10. 친구의 책 — and this 의?
Mission
- Three-way contrast dictation — Have a tutor or audio read 10 mixed syllables from the 가·카·까 sets, and write them down. 8+ correct = pass!
- Read the compound-vowel words — Read 과일, 왜, 뭐, 의자, 귀, 회사 aloud, record yourself, and compare with a native audio.
Coming Up Next
Lesson 8: The final gate of Hangul Mastery — 3 pronunciation rules, then reading real signs and menus!
Show Answer Key
A. 1. 빵 = bread (방 = room) 2. 딸 = daughter (달 = moon) B. 3. gwa-il (fruit) 4. gwi (ear) 5. mwo (what) 6. wae (why) 7. hoe-sa [close to 훼사] (company) C. 8. [의] — it starts the word 9. [이] — it's not word-initial 10. [에] — it's the possessive particle
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