Day 2: Hangul, part two — and then you can read
Today the alphabet closes. By the end of this file you can read any Korean word on any sign, menu or screen — not understand it, but read it correctly out loud, which is the thing that takes French learners the whole thirty days.
Three parts: the bottom of the block, the third row of consonants (a contrast English does not have), and three sound-change rules without which written Korean and spoken Korean will never match up for you.
⚠️ Do not split this across two days. The rules only make sense together.
1. 받침 — the bottom of the block
A Korean block can hold a third letter, sitting underneath, running the full width. It is called 받침 (bat-chim — "supporting floor").
| Block | = | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 한 | ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ | |
| 국 | ㄱ + ㅜ + ㄱ | |
| 밥 | ㅂ + ㅏ + ㅂ | |
| 물 | ㅁ + ㅜ + ㄹ | |
| 강 | ㄱ + ㅏ + ㅇ |
★ And here ㅇ finally does something. Silent at the top of a block, at the bottom it is ng: 강 = gang, 방 = bang, 사랑 = sa-rang (love).
Reading practice
| 한국 | han-guk | Korea |
|---|---|---|
| 밥 | bap | rice, a meal |
| 물 | mul | water |
| 집 | jip | house |
| 문 | mun | door |
| 산 | san | mountain |
| 눈 | nun | eye, snow |
| 손 | son | hand |
| 사랑 | sa-rang | love |
| 선생님 | seon-saeng-nim | teacher |
2. ★★ Twenty-seven letters, seven sounds
Almost any consonant can sit in the bottom slot — but they collapse into only seven sounds.
| Written batchim | Sounds as | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ㄱ ㅋ ㄲ | k | 국 guk · 부엌 bu-eok |
| ㄴ | n | 문 mun |
| ㄷ ㅌ ㅅ ㅆ ㅈ ㅊ ㅎ | ★ t | 옷 ot (clothes) · 낮 nat · 꽃 kkot (flower) |
| ㄹ | l | 물 mul |
| ㅁ | m | 밤 bam |
| ㅂ ㅍ | p | 밥 bap · 앞 ap (front) |
| ㅇ | ng | 강 gang |
★ The middle row is the surprise: 옷, 낮, 꽃, 밭 all end in the same t sound despite being spelled with four different letters. You do not choose — you just say t.
⚠️ And every final stop is unreleased
This is the single biggest tell of an English accent in Korean.
Say 밥 (bap). Stop your lips at the p and DO NOT let the air out. No little puff.The word ends with your mouth closed.
English releases final consonants — bap! with an audible burst. Korean does not. Same for 국 (guk — tongue stays up) and 옷 (ot — tongue stays on the ridge).
★ The test: hold a hand in front of your mouth and say 밥. You should feel nothing.
3. ★★ Three ways to say the same consonant
Here is the one genuinely new thing in Korean sound. English has two kinds of stop — voiced (b, d, g) and voiceless (p, t, k). Korean has three, and they are three different words.
| Plain | Aspirated | Tense |
|---|---|---|
| ㄱ g | ㅋ k | ㄲ kk |
| ㄷ d | ㅌ t | ㄸ tt |
| ㅂ b | ㅍ p | ㅃ pp |
| ㅈ j | ㅊ ch | ㅉ jj |
| ㅅ s | — | ㅆ ss |
★ And the shapes tell you which is which, exactly as promised yesterday: one extra stroke = a puff of air (ㄱ→ㅋ, ㄷ→ㅌ, ㅂ→ㅍ, ㅈ→ㅊ). Doubling the letter = tension (ㄱ→ㄲ).
What each one physically is
| How | Paper test | |
|---|---|---|
| Plain ㄱㄷㅂㅈ | relaxed, small breath | paper moves a little |
| Aspirated ㅋㅌㅍㅊ | strong puff of air | paper jumps |
| Tense ㄲㄸㅃㅉ | ★ throat tight, no air at all | paper does not move |
Hold a sheet of paper in front of your mouth and say:달 (dal — moon) → paper twitches 탈 (tal — mask) → paper jumps 딸 (ttal — daughter) → paper stays completely still
⚠️ These are different words. So are 방 (room) / 팡 / 빵 (bread), and 자다 (to sleep) / 차다 (to kick) / 짜다 (salty).
★ The tense series is the hard one for English speakers because English has nothing like it. Think of tightening your throat as if straining, then releasing without breath. Say English "sky" — the k after s is close to Korean ㄲ, because the s stole the air.
4. The rest of the vowels
Combinations of what you already know. Say both parts fast and run them together.
| = | Sound | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅘ | ㅗ+ㅏ | wa | 사과 sa-gwa (apple) |
| ㅝ | ㅜ+ㅓ | wo | 뭐 mwo (what) |
| ㅚ | ㅗ+ㅣ | oe ≈ we | 외국 oe-guk (foreign) |
| ㅟ | ㅜ+ㅣ | wi | 뒤 dwi (behind) |
| ㅙ ㅞ | wae / we | ★ same sound as ㅚ in practice | |
| ㅢ | ㅡ+ㅣ | ui | 의사 ui-sa (doctor) |
⚠️ ㅢ is the irregular one, and it is worth knowing because it is in the possessive particle:
- at the start of a word → ui — 의사 (doctor)
- elsewhere → just i — 회의 (hoe-i, meeting)
- as the possessive particle 의 → said e — 저의 (jeo-e, my)
5. ★★ Three sound rules — why what you hear isn't what's written
This section is why Day 2 exists. Korean spelling keeps words looking consistent, and adjusts the pronunciation instead. Without these three rules you will never match a sound you heard to a word you can look up.
① 연음 — the batchim slides right ★ the important one
A batchim followed by a block starting with ㅇ (silent) moves into that block.
| Written | Said | |
|---|---|---|
| 한국어 | [한구거] han-gu-geo | Korean language |
| 음악 | [으막] eu-mak | music |
| 일본어 | [일보너] il-bo-neo | Japanese |
| 책이 | [채기] chae-gi | the book (+ particle) |
★ This is the rule you will meet a hundred times a day, because Korean grammar attaches particles and endings that begin with vowels — 이, 은, 을, 에, 아요 — to nouns and verbs that end in a batchim. Every single one triggers 연음.
한국 + 어 is written 한국어 and said [한구거]. The ㄱ does not disappear; it moves house.
② 비음화 — stops become nasal before a nasal
ㄱ/ㄷ/ㅂ followed by ㄴ or ㅁ turn into ㅇ/ㄴ/ㅁ.
| Written | Said | |
|---|---|---|
| 감사합니다 | ★ [감사함니다] gam-sa-ham-ni-da | thank you |
| 한국말 | [한궁말] | the Korean language |
| 입니다 | [임니다] | it is |
⚠️ ★ This is why 감사합니다 sounds like "hamnida" and not "hapnida". You have probably heard the word a hundred times and never been able to spell it. That is this rule. Every polite Korean verb ends in -습니다 / -ㅂ니다, and every one of them does this.
③ 경음화 — tensing after a stop
After a k/t/p batchim, a following plain consonant goes tense.
| Written | Said | |
|---|---|---|
| 학교 | [학꾜] hak-kkyo | school |
| 식당 | [식땅] sik-ttang | restaurant |
| 입국 | [입꾹] | entry |
★ You do not have to apply these consciously — they happen naturally when you speak fast. Learn them so that your ears can undo them. That is the real purpose.
6. ★ Now read Day 1's sentences properly
Yesterday you learned these as sound. Read them now, and decode what is happening.
| Written | Actually said | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 안녕하세요 | [안녕하세요] | ㅇ batchim = ng |
| 감사합니다 | [감사함니다] | ★ 비음화 — ㅂ + ㄴ → ㅁ |
| 죄송합니다 | [죄송함니다] | 비음화 again |
| 잠시만요 | [잠시만뇨] | |
| 몰라요 | [몰라요] | ㄹㄹ |
| 한국어 조금 해요 | [한구거 조금 해요] | ★ 연음 |
| 다시 말해 주세요 | [다시 마래 주세요] | ★ 연음 |
| 안녕히 가세요 | [안녕히 가세요] |
★ You just read every one of them. Two days ago this was a wall of shapes. The alphabet is finished — everything from Day 3 on is language, not letters.
7. Exercises
A. Read the block, give the sound.
- 한 2. 국 3. 밥 4. 물 5. 강 6. 집 7. 꽃 8. 앞
B. ★ What sound does the batchim make?
- 옷 2. 낮 3. 부엌 4. 앞 5. 밤 6. 강 7. 밭
C. ⚠️ Plain, aspirated, or tense? Read all three.
- 달 / 탈 / 딸 2. 방 / 팡 / 빵 3. 자다 / 차다 / 짜다
D. ★ 연음 — how is it actually said?
- 한국어 2. 음악 3. 일본어 4. 책이
E. ★ 비음화 — how is it actually said?
- 감사합니다 2. 입니다 3. 한국말
F. 경음화 — how is it actually said?
- 학교 2. 식당
G. Read the compound vowel.
- 사과 2. 뭐 3. 외국 4. 뒤 5. 의사
H. ⚠️ Fix the pronunciation.
- Saying 밥 with an audible puff at the end.
- Reading 한국어 as han-guk-eo.
- Reading 감사합니다 as gam-sa-hap-ni-da.
- Saying 딸 with a puff of air.
Answers
A. 1. han 2. guk 3. bap 4. mul 5. gang 6. jip 7. kkot 8. ap B. 1. t 2. t 3. k 4. p 5. m 6. ng 7. t C. 1. dal (moon) / tal (mask) / ttal (daughter — no air) 2. bang (room) / pang / ppang (bread) 3. ja-da (sleep) / cha-da (kick) / jja-da (salty) D. 1. [한구거] 2. [으막] 3. [일보너] 4. [채기] E. 1. [감사함니다] 2. [임니다] 3. [한궁말] F. 1. [학꾜] 2. [식땅] G. 1. sa-gwa (apple) 2. mwo (what) 3. oe-guk (foreign) 4. dwi (behind) 5. ui-sa (doctor) H. 1. Unreleased — stop the lips and hold. 2. [한구거] — 연음 3. [감사함니다] — 비음화 4. No air at all — tense, not aspirated
8. Today's 10 sentences (flashcards)
Read every one of these in Hangul. You no longer need the romanisation.
- 안녕하세요. — Hello
- 감사합니다. — Thank you [감사함니다]
- 네. / 아니요. — Yes. / No.
- 죄송합니다. — I'm sorry [죄송함니다]
- 저기요. — Excuse me (getting attention)
- 잠시만요. — Just a moment
- 몰라요. — I don't know
- 한국어 조금 해요. — I speak a little Korean [한구거…]
- 다시 말해 주세요. — Please say that again
- 천천히 말해 주세요. — Please speak slowly
9. 📲 Upload to LangNote
Upload section 2 (the seven final sounds), section 3 (the three-way contrast), section 5 (the rules) and section 8 → study language Korean.
| Mission | What to do with it today |
|---|---|
| 🎧 Podcast | Today's key mission. 달/탈/딸 is a hearing problem before it is a speaking one |
| ✍️ Dictation | Batchim is where dictation earns its keep — you will write 옷 as 오 at first |
| 🗣 Shadowing | The three-way contrasts, and the ten sentences with the sound changes applied |
| 📖 Vocab | The words from §1 and the reading table — real vocabulary, learned as Hangul only |
| ❓ Quiz | The seven final sounds, and 연음 |
★ Go find Korean text today — a K-pop title, a menu, a shop sign, a food packet — and read it out loud. You will not know what it means. You will be able to say it, and that is the whole point of these two days.
From Day 3 this course drops romanisation. The alphabet is done; from here on it is greetings, particles, verbs and the politeness system — and Korean grammar, unlike its alphabet, is nothing like English.
langNote is a paid subscription and this course recommends it. The 30 lessons are free and complete either way.