You finished this day
Tense doubles
Doubling a consonant in Hangul does not make it longer; it makes it tense. Today covers the five doubles, ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ and ㅉ. By the end you can read 아빠 (appa), 'dad', and 비싸요 (bissayo), 'it is expensive', and you will know the three-way system behind Korean consonants.
English sorts these consonants into pairs, such as b and p. Korean has sets of three instead, 가, 카 and 까, and the same for ㄷ, ㅂ and ㅈ, while ㅅ has only a plain and a tense form. The plain letter has a light breath and a lower pitch on the next vowel, the breathy one from day 5 has a strong puff and a higher pitch, and the tense one has no breath at all, a tightened throat and also a higher pitch. The nearest English sounds are the k in 'skin', the t in 'stop' and the p in 'spin', which lose their breath after s. Say 'spin' slowly, drop the s, and the p that is left is close to ㅃ.
ㄲ 쌍기역
- Sound
- kk, as in 까
- How it sounds
- A tense k with no breath, like the k in 'skin', and the vowel after it starts on a higher pitch. At the end of a block it is an unreleased k.
- Memory hook
- Two ㄱ side by side: the same place at the back of the tongue, pressed with double the tension.
- Watch for
- Adding a puff of air, which makes it ㅋ, or relaxing it into a plain ㄱ.
ㄸ 쌍디귿
- Sound
- tt, as in 따
- How it sounds
- A tense t with no breath, like the t in 'stop'. It never appears at the end of a block.
- Memory hook
- Two ㄷ joined: the tongue-tip stop, pressed harder.
- Watch for
- Hearing it as d because it has no breath, and writing 다 for 따.
ㅃ 쌍비읍
- Sound
- pp, as in 빠
- How it sounds
- A tense p with no breath, like the p in 'spin'. It never appears at the end of a block.
- Memory hook
- Two ㅂ side by side: the lips pressed together with double force before they open.
- Watch for
- Letting air escape after it, which turns 빵 into 팡.
ㅆ 쌍시옷
- Sound
- ss, as in 싸
- How it sounds
- A tense, sharper s, made with the tongue held tight. At the end of a block it is an unreleased t.
- Memory hook
- Two ㅅ, two teeth: a hiss with twice the pressure behind it.
- Watch for
- Treating ㅆ and ㅅ as the same, when 쌀 is 'rice' and 살 is 'flesh' or 'years of age'.
ㅉ 쌍지읒
- Sound
- jj, as in 짜
- How it sounds
- A tense j with no breath, sharper than ㅈ and without the puff of ㅊ. It never appears at the end of a block.
- Memory hook
- Two ㅈ joined: the same sound, held tight.
- Watch for
- Saying it with breath like ㅊ, which makes 짜요 'it is salty' sound like 차요 'it is cold to the touch'.
Read these
Every word here uses only letters you have met so far. Say it before you press the speaker.
Write today's letters
- Top to bottom, left to right.
- Horizontal strokes are written left to right, vertical ones top to bottom.
- Many corners are turned without lifting the pen, so ㄱ and ㄴ are each a single stroke.
- ㅇ is drawn anticlockwise, starting from the top.
- Vowels follow the same order: ㅏ and ㅜ start with the long line, while ㅓ and ㅗ start with the short stroke.
- In a block, write the consonant first, then the vowel, then any final consonant.
Two passes each: trace it with the guide on, then write it from memory with the guide off and let the guide come back over your strokes. The second pass is the one that teaches you anything.
Check yourself
8 questions. Get 5 right to finish the day.