Double consonants

A doubled letter is a tense sound. Tighten your throat a little and say it with no puff of air.

Korean has three versions of some sounds: plain 가, breathy 카, and tense 까. English speakers hear the tense one most clearly in words like "skin" and "spy", where k and p have no puff of air.

Don't worry if 가 and 카 or 가 and 까 sound alike to you at first. Hearing all three takes time, even for advanced learners. Listen to the cards often and the difference will come.

Tap each letter to hear it

Read your first words

You already know every letter in these words. Try reading each one before you look at the romanization.

• 빨래ppallae · laundry 🔊
• 뿌리ppuri · root 🔊
• 아저씨ajeossi · middle-aged man, mister 🔊
• 떡tteok · rice cake 🔊
• 토끼tokki · rabbit 🔊
• 꼬리kkori · tail 🔊
• 찌개jjigae · stew 🔊
• 쓰다sseuda · to write 🔊
• 빵ppang · bread 🔊

Quick quiz

Want to practice more? Try typing in Korean.