Learn Korean with Mia Level1 Lesson5: Free Korean Lesson for Beginner

# Lesson 1‑5 – Learn Korean Consonants: ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ – Essential Hangul Guide for Beginners

Welcome back to our beginner-friendly Korean learning series! In the last lesson, we covered the first set of Hangul consonants: ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ. If you’ve practiced those letters and are ready to move on, you’re in the right place.

In today’s post, we’ll focus on Lesson 1-5 of the Korean curriculum: Basic Consonants 2 (ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ). These four letters are extremely common, appear in everyday Korean words, and are crucial for reading, writing, and speaking Korean fluently.

Let’s dive deep into these four consonants with pronunciation tips, stroke order, vocabulary examples, and practice exercises.

Why Learn ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, and ㅇ Early?

These consonants are some of the most visually simple, yet phonemically powerful characters in Hangul. They form the foundation of thousands of Korean words, including:

    마음 (ma-eum) – heart/mind
    밥 (bap) – rice/meal
    사람 (sa-ram) – person
    음악 (eum-ak) – music

If you want to speak or understand even basic Korean sentences, you’ll need these consonants. They're everywhere!


# ㅁ (mieum) – The M Sound

㉠ Romanized

    m

㉡ Pronunciation

    Exactly like the English "m" in “mom.”

㉢ IPA

    /m/

㉣ Stroke order

    A rounded square — start at the top left and trace the square clockwise.
 

Memory Tip
Looks like a mouth or closed lips — just like the “m” sound is made with closed lips.


Examples

Practice
    Combine with vowels: 마, 머, 모, 무, 미
    Say aloud: 마시다, 마을, 마트 — Try mimicking native pronunciation using slow audio tools.


# ㅂ (bieup) – The B/P Sound

㉠ Romanized

b or p

㉡ Pronunciation

Voiceless like “p” at the start of a word, voiced like “b” between vowels.

㉢ IPA

/p/ or /b/

㉣ Stroke order

A vertical rectangle with a bar in the middle.


Memory Tip
    Imagine a box of bread — both start with “b.”

Examples

Practice
    Combine with vowels: 바, 버, 보, 부, 비
    Try reading: 바보 (fool), 바람 (wind), 바빠요 (busy)


# ㅅ (siot) – The S Sound

㉠ Romanized

    s

㉡ Pronunciation

    Like “s” in “snake,” but becomes soft or even silent before some vowels (like ㅣ).

㉢ IPA

    /s/ or /ɕ/

㉣ Stroke order

    Two diagonal strokes starting from top, meeting at the bottom.


Memory Tip
    Looks like a sharp spike or sword, and “s” sounds are sharp too!


Examples

Pronunciation Note
    When combined with ㅣ (i), ㅅ sounds softer, closer to “sh.”
        시 = “shi”
        쉬 = “shwi”


Practice
    Try: 사, 서, 시, 소, 수
    Speak out loud: 사람, 시계 (clock), 선물 (gift)

# ㅇ (ieung) – Silent or NG Sound

㉠ Romanized

    (none) / ng

㉡ Pronunciation
    At the beginning of a syllable, it is silent.
    At the end of a syllable, it makes the “ng” sound like in “song.”

㉢ IPA

    ∅ / ŋ

㉣ Stroke order

    A simple circle, drawn clockwise.

Memory Tip
    Think of ㅇ as a placeholder. It’s like a “zero” that fills the space before a vowel.

Examples

Practice
    Initial (silent): 아, 어, 오, 우, 이
    Final (ng): 앙, 엉, 옹, 응, 잉
    Practice aloud: 영화 (movie), 공원 (park), 학생 (student)

Writing Guide: Stroke Order and Form

Correct stroke order makes your Hangul look cleaner and improves recall.

Use Hangul writing worksheets or graph paper to keep your letter shapes even and square.

Exercise 1: Reading Syllables

Try reading these combinations using the consonants from this lesson with basic vowels:

    ㅁ + ㅏ = 마
    ㅂ + ㅗ = 보
    ㅅ + ㅜ = 수
    ㅇ + ㅣ = 이 (remember: ㅇ is silent!)

Exercise 2: Word Matching

Match Korean words to meanings:

    바다
    사랑
    머리
    아이

    A. head
    B. child
    C. love
    D. sea

Exercise 3: Mini Dictation

Listen to these words (via Korean pronunciation apps or TTS):
    마음, 비, 사람, 공 Write them in Hangul, then check accuracy.

Pro Tip: Focus on Sound Patterns

Korean is a phonetic language, so once you recognize sound patterns (like ㅅ becoming “sh” before ㅣ), your listening and speaking will rapidly improve.

Also, try these:
    Use the app Papago for pronunciation playback.
    Try writing your name in Hangul using today’s letters!

Vocabulary Recap

Here’s a list of high-frequency beginner words using ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, and ㅇ:

What You Can Say Now

You now know 8 Korean consonants: ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ.

That means you can already read and pronounce dozens of syllables and even simple Korean words.

Try saying:
    사람이 있어요. (There is a person.)
    마음이 아파요. (My heart hurts.)
    밥 먹었어요? (Did you eat?)