I can tell a lax, an aspirated, and a tense consonant apart by ear and in writing — 가, 카, 까 — and type the tense ones with Shift.
Lax, aspirated, tense
Lax, aspirated, tense
ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ ㅈ each have two “sisters”: aspirated, with a strong puff of air (ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅊ), and tense (ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅉ). ㅅ has one: ㅆ. That makes five sets: see the table.
The difference is not voicing. English has a puffed p (pie) and an unpuffed p (spy); Korean writes them as two letters, ㅍ and ㅃ, with the lax ㅂ in between. Lax (lesson 2): soft, a light puff. Aspirated: a strong puff; hold a sheet of paper to your lips: it moves for 파, not for 바. Tense: a tight throat, no puff, a short, sharp sound; the voice after it is a little higher.
These letters tell words apart: 사다 “to buy” — 싸다 “cheap”. Since the letters differ, the checker tells the spellings apart too.
Before ㅣ, ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ, ㅅ sounds like the sh of “she”: 시다 “sour”.
Type the tense ones with Shift: Shift + ㄱ → ㄲ, and the same for ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ.
Back to the lesson 2 table: the family name 최 is usually written Choi in English; its ㅊ is aspirated.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “voiced vs. voiceless”: 가 said with the k of “key” is heard as 카 — the difference is the puff of air.
• NOT ㄲ as two sounds, “kk” as in “bookcase” — it is one short tense sound.
• NOT 카 without a puff — then you hear 가.
Five sets: lax, aspirated, tense
A sheet of paper held to your lips moves only for the middle column.
| Set | Lax | Aspirated | Tense | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | 가 | 카 | 까 | g/k · k · kk |
| ㄷ | 다 | 타 | 따 | d/t · t · tt |
| ㅂ | 바 | 파 | 빠 | b/p · p · pp |
| ㅈ | 자 | 차 | 짜 | j · ch · jj |
| ㅅ | 사 | — | 싸 | s · — · ss |
Lesson notes
Lax, aspirated, tense
ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ ㅈ each have two “sisters”: aspirated, with a strong puff of air (ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅊ), and tense (ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅉ). ㅅ has one: ㅆ. That makes five sets: see the table.
The difference is not voicing. English has a puffed p (pie) and an unpuffed p (spy); Korean writes them as two letters, ㅍ and ㅃ, with the lax ㅂ in between. Lax (lesson 2): soft, a light puff. Aspirated: a strong puff; hold a sheet of paper to your lips: it moves for 파, not for 바. Tense: a tight throat, no puff, a short, sharp sound; the voice after it is a little higher.
These letters tell words apart: 사다 “to buy” — 싸다 “cheap”. Since the letters differ, the checker tells the spellings apart too.
Before ㅣ, ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ, ㅅ sounds like the sh of “she”: 시다 “sour”.
Type the tense ones with Shift: Shift + ㄱ → ㄲ, and the same for ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ.
Back to the lesson 2 table: the family name 최 is usually written Choi in English; its ㅊ is aspirated.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “voiced vs. voiceless”: 가 said with the k of “key” is heard as 카 — the difference is the puff of air.
• NOT ㄲ as two sounds, “kk” as in “bookcase” — it is one short tense sound.
• NOT 카 without a puff — then you hear 가.