Telling Apart ㄱ/ㅋ/ㄲ | Korean Pronunciation Explained

Beginner Korean learners might find that the consonants ㄱ, ㅋ, and ㄲ sound pretty much the same. I'm going to try to help you recognize and master the differences!
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[@mika-nx2pg]

you’re so helpful and underrated wtf

[@Romi140]

Exactly

[@kirbynaelgas6913]

FR

[@luvcheriepham]

FRFRFR

[@luvcheriepham]

FRFRRF

[@kanyinsolaadeliyi]

please could you do similar videos for the other letters,ㄷㅌㄸ ㅂㅍㅃ, ㅈㅊㅉ, ㅅㅆ, and particularly help on the difference between the korean s and the english s. you're videos are so so helpful to me in my korean-learning journey! thank you😊

[@YourKoreanSaem]

I will! Perhaps once a week or so because I need to do more research 😆 but thank you for your interest!

[@tylerrobblee8038]

I’m waiting for my TTMIK books and have watched about 5 pronunciation videos and you’re the only one to confirm that « ㄱ » is pronounced « g » at the middle or end of a word. I inferred that from listening to podcasts and variety shows. But its nice that someone came out and said it to me Very concise and to the point. Thanks for helping me start my journey :)

[@kojugo]

I've seen several similar explanations about this topic. Yours is the best. Great job explaining clearly the core differences of the different sounds properties. Hangeul is awesome in the way you don't have to guess a word pronunciation whereas in English you explained very well it can depend on the word. Looking forward seeing your next videos!

[@xlddmczi2204]

why so underrated, this is the best telling apart video i've ever seen

[@Halloweeee]

Thanks this video helped a lot! Could you also do one on ㄷ,ㄸ, and ㅌ?

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Yes I'll try to upload one soon!

[@jisooinyourarea6751]

@@YourKoreanSaem I love your vidssssss especially the parts where you through words from different languages at the end that have the sound

[@benjamincoombs4295]

I'm just learning Korean, and have been struggling with the aspirated and double consonants but your channel has really helped! Thank you!

[@Abigail-su1pc]

Just started learning korean and this video is really helpful. I had been struggling to differentiate the pronunciation of ㄱ ㅋ ㄲ. Now I know the difference. ㄲ is basically how I pronounce k in my native language and ㅋ is k in english. The challenge for me is ㄱ.

[@gaugaucauvong3731]

Well researched and presented. One of the best videos I've seen. Would be useful at the end if there was a couple of minutes listening and repeating practice at the end.

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Thanks, will keep in mind for future pronunciation videos :)

[@HirayahManawari]

1:30 just my repeat time 🙂

[@occamythunderin4100]

The ‘tikka masala’ helped a lot 👍🏼

[@crossgame9479]

It's literally the perfect substitute

[@ahmedemam8687]

This video is outstandingly useful. It is one of the most wonderful well-explained Korean alphabet videos I have ever watched on KZbin. Well done and 정말 감사합니다 ^_^

[@pauloroberto7875]

Wow. So useful and well explained. You’re inclusion of other languages helped me a lot. I am Brazilian and we speak português that it has lots of similar sounds. Thank you.

[@hellogoodmorning8888]

Wonderful video. 감사합니다! PS: You’re very pretty

[@kimberlyfarah7484]

I struggled for two weeks to learn this. I just found your video and it helped SOOOO much. THANK YOUUUUU

[@kori228]

what do you think of the alternative analysis mentioned on wikipedia, where ㄱ is underlying voiced /g/ that's devoiced in phrase-initial position, and is distinguished from ㅋ by tone/pitch? ㄱ /g/, -> #[kʰV˨(˧)], -> ._[ɡ]_ ㄲ /k/ (unaspirated) ㅋ /kʰ/ Coming from Chinese, ㄱ definitely sounds fairly strongly aspirated even when in phrase-onset position.

[@helenaabdelsamad6628]

Thank you 😍 Best explaination ever💞 . Could you also explain about ㅈ pronunciation? Because I sometimes hear it as 'J' sound in the middle of the word and more as 'CH' sound at the beginning of a word. What is the correct pronunciation?

[@YourKoreanSaem]

You are right! It's more like a J in the middle of a word and closer to ch (but without the burst of air) at the beginning.

[@helenaabdelsamad6628]

So it becomes more like tj than ch in the beginning of a word?

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Helena Abdel Samad much like ㄱ, the ㅈ is pronounced like a softer ch, or like j without the voicing! It’s hard to express it with the English alphabet 😅 will make a video about it someday to complete the consonant series

[@loveingbot]

Your videos are so incredible helpful and your methodology and dynamic is essential to make us understand it better. 잘 봤습니다.

[@Anonymous-kp3jf]

So is it like this? ㄱ=/gʰ/ ㄲ=/ˈg/ ㅋ=/kʰ/

[@kiavash1469]

you actually helped me

[@axel5273]

I thought ㄲ and ㅋ were the same thing but in a different writing form 😬 I guess I need to restart from the beginning haha... Thank you!

[@luce0606]

I thought I had some understanding of ㄲ, but your examples just kept blowing my mind. Thank you so much for this!

[@laureneddy8491]

Thank you!! This is the first video I have come across after lots of searching that does an excellent job at explaining the differences between ㄱ ,ㄲ, and ㅋ and how to pronounce them! Game changer in my pronunciation!

[@Observer511]

You're the bomb! That is the best explanation I have gotten on this subject so far!

[@marie_s127]

Thank you so much!! It really shows the effort you put into these explanations 😭💜 They’re clear and concise and easy to follow. And thank you for also using Spanish in the examples, I really appreciate it 💜❤️🧡

[@ahmedessam5804]

This is very helpful, I've never found this as clear and so broken down anywhere else.

[@muradbashirov6435]

So helpful!

[@Kakashi-Usagi]

Best video I've seen explaining this! Thank you!

[@LovingHali]

You're explanation are the best. I wish I found your videos sooner.

[@marianakrentz6332]

Very well explained. However, it would have been nice if you had included some examples of Korean words using these different sounds as well

[@curlysurgery]

thanks for this wonderful explanation!! im going to subscribe :)

[@thetzin558]

Thank you. I fully understand the differences now.

[@mjjsnell]

Second video of yours that I've watched. These are so helpful! Thank you so much.

[@michellemercado5477]

Thank you!!!❤️❤️ I have a question, is ㄲ a voiced consonant ??

[@YourKoreanSaem]

According to the National Institute of Korean Language, ㄲ is unvoiced. Fun fact: there are some who claim that the double consonant was originally created for voiced consonants so we could pronounce sounds in other languages (primarily Chinese), but the Hangul system was a bit messed with around the 1930s (probably for political reasons, since we were colonized by Japan at the time). There seems to be a lot of debate regarding this topic, but the terms are so complicated and linguisticsy that I wasn't really able to follow. :X Anyway, short answer is no hehe.

[@michellemercado5477]

@@YourKoreanSaem you're a great teacher. Thank you for answering my question ☺️☺️

[@worldaffairs000]

I am learning Korean for 3 years but still I was unable to differentiate among these consonants. Now thanks to you I have grab the concept .. 감사합니다 ❤

[@justbekool1304]

How do you stop your vocal cords from vibrating when saying ㄱ I’m confused

[@agnieszkatwardosz5106]

Thanks for a good video, it seems like in my native language ㄱ is the default K and I knew ㅋ from English... So ㄲ is the only challenge but I'm trying. ;)

[@YourKoreanSaem]

You can do it! 😆

[@Kim_Saam]

Tikka masala really is a great example I got the whole point from it, thank you

[@melanielee6944]

You’re fantastic at teaching! This is the most helpful video on Korean pronunciation that I’ve found. I will definitely be coming back to your channel as I continue to learn Korean!

[@aaronmikeborda3777]

Is "ca" in Spanish a good equivalent to "ga" in Korean? Listen to "me casé" in Google Translate to hear yourself, but C in Spanish is unvoiced and unaspirated. To me, Korean "ga" still sounds aspirated, but I'm also not very attuned to listening yet. Edit: I realize you mentioned Spanish for "gga" but being able to speak Spanish well myself, I don't hear or feel tensing when speaking, though "gga" does have the unaspirated and unvoiced elements.

[@khermonat]

This was the absolutely most helpful tutorial!

[@krewdeers1256]

Wait is it bad that i sound like a crow when pronouncing them😭⁉️

[@yuradu2919]

Best explanation i found so far!

[@crossgame9479]

Tikka in Tikka masala is the best answer it's literallt the same sound

[@im_Dafox]

선생님 감사합니다 🙇‍♂ That was the best explanation i've seen so far. Helped me realise my pronounciation was bad, like ""일꺼요"" with a tense throat instead of 읽어요, etc. Thank you so much !!

[@lunaeclipse5768]

pretty teacher i cant believe the subs only 20k+

[@raindropsroses1088]

THANK YOU!! you really have an knack for teaching!!

[@Tazylou]

I didn't find, but did you already made a video about Patchim prononciation ?

[@nocopyrightsvideos4071]

Shexs to good at explaining the difference

[@manzero134gd]

I hereby announce my stats: Enlightenment: 100

[@ThisIsntmyrealnameGoogle]

might be the only video that actually helped me, thanks!

[@zoelynch9689]

thank you! this was very helpful, your explanation is the best I've seen so far!

[@adiladil78]

What can I say? To say this video is excellent would be an understatement. Thanks for the super-awesome video. Keep up the good work.

[@mew8534]

This helped so muchhh!!! Thank you!!

[@HeavensSunrise1]

Thank you so much for your videos. I love the way you explain pronunciation. Can you please do a video for the vowels if not already available?

[@mia-pq8jg]

this video was so helpful thank youuu

[@portuguesnapratica]

Thank you for the video 😊

[@JazzifiDIY]

That was a 🔥 breakdown, thank you so much!

[@astrospeedcuber]

So can you say that the double g is like a strong g with a tense kind of pause In front

[@mr.n0ne]

'tika masala' example was helpful, to correctly identify how 까 sounds.

[@kyungmix]

Would you say ㅋ is just a more aspirated version of ㄱ that is used at the beginning of a word?

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Bri yes!

[@producermind9030]

The hiccup tip was brilliant.

[@loganp5744]

Your explanation is so accurate and clear. Thanks for the awesome work! I cant wait to see the future of this channel!

[@kilindogma9711]

awesome video 👏👏👏

[@mirey2130]

Thank you so much for this video! I’ve seen countless resources say ㄱ is somewhere in between g/k but never any explanation for how it actually overlaps with the English g/k. For the first time I feel like I finally understand how it’s pronounced and how it differs from ㅋ and ㄲ after watching your video

[@SilvermoonForestclan]

Your explanations are fantastic! It’s very helpful how you explain what is happening in the throat/mouth and give a lot of examples and the actual differences from English

[@gaugaucauvong3731]

This was your best hair of 2019.

[@cheskaelqueso]

Thank you for clear explanation!

[@tiff_biell]

Great explanation and examples, really helpful.

[@blueberrysky7599]

Please make more videos like this.

[@milo-3176]

Omg this is the best explanation I ever found thank you so much

[@EdenRiot2]

So helpful! Thank you!

[@vickyfunari]

So helpful! Thank you!

[@njn.3761]

Oh my god, thank you! I get it now!

[@bobchen5662]

Thank you so much for the video! :)

[@daveh4208]

선생님 샘물, Great video, I always learn so much from you. I have subscribed to your site and have been looking around. I'm wondering if you have done a video on 니은? I'm told I don't say 니은 properly but I don't know why. I read somewhere that when you pronounce 니은 your tongue goes between your top and bottom rows of teeth, is that the proper placement? I say 니은 similar to the United States pronunciation where I place my tongue on the back of the top teeth. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 데이브 드름

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Your tongue should not be between your teeth, behind the back of your top teeth is correct. Who said you were pronouncing it wrong and did they explain why?

[@daveh4208]

@@YourKoreanSaem 선생님 샘물, 갑사힙니다. No particular person has told me what I'm doing is wrong, but several people I've talked with correct my 나는, but I can't really tell the difference from what they say and what I said. They do not say what is wrong, I will ask next time. I don't believe I have a strange accent, but I have lived in several different places around the world and pick up a little here and there...so maybe I picked up a speech pattern in Holland or Germany when I was living there that makes my 'n' sound strangee. 조심해요. 데이브 드림

[@reginathereader2567]

Thank you so much for this video. It really helped a lot.

[@jimhopper7719]

Please upload video on difference between ㅇ and ㅎ in pronunciation.

[@Mort7an]

Great! Thank you. :)

[@danieldinev4905]

You are amazing!!!

[@Carlos-zz9he]

thanks again for your technical explanations! I hope your channel keep growing! Take care!

[@shris4166]

Thanks it helped a lot ✨

[@benjamin_lee]

Oh god this is amazing thank you so much

[@shin6937]

So helpful! I was confused with those sounds but now I see the difference a little bit 💜

[@JavierMendozaAvila]

Ok, I get it but I can't produce the sound on command :(

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Understanding and being able to tell the differences is the first step and you've done that already! The rest will come with time and practice. Maybe you can try recording yourself and comparing your pronunciation to that of a native, since you can recognize by ear. 화이팅!

[@abigailsian_]

thank you so much!

[@ellie-ng7fr]

This video helped me a lot, thank you so much ❤️

[@Lifestyle-db6yy]

I need help telling ㅜ and ㅡ apart because I’m kinda struggling speaking it and once again telling them apart.

[@Kobra31677]

Thank the lord Jesus Christ of latter-day saints I came across your channel and in particular this video. I was always struggling with why sometimes it sounded like a 'k' and others it sounded like a 'g'. I was looking for an explaination as to why these sounded different in words even though it was the same symbol. So what I have been doing is saying it as 'gamsahamnida', when I should be using the softer 'kamsahamnida' as 'ㄱ' is at the beginning of the word. Have I got this correct and is this always the case or are there words that start with 'ㄱ' but are pronouced as a 'G'? Fantastic video, subbed and bell icon clicked. Many thanks! Greetings from the UK!

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Thank you and yes you are correct 👍

[@blackrivermusicstudio7648]

감사합니다!

[@peterwang2186]

This is amazing

[@aeronaj7843]

ur so pretty tho

[@vitorialira3814]

you're awesome, thank you

[@stanloonauglies9358]

omg super helpful! thank you so much :)

[@mariannebayani3328]

thank u !!!

[@phoenixknight8837]

Thanks.

[@dannylps2093]

I don't get it. The first one still sounds like a k, second one is a k and the last one sounds like a paused g so... I don't know

[@i2ikorean]

Hi, I am a native Korean. I think you almost got it. ㄱ: get your tongue and mouth to say "K" but instead say "g" but with less voicing. ㅋ=k ㄲ: try to see what happens when you read "dot.gov", "but good" between "t" and "g"

[@bollorice7177]

1:30

[@vigneshk6816]

❤️

[@roseodonovan6979]

You're videos have been the most helpful for pronunciation, thank you!!

[@Lilicoder]

0:06