German splits its stops in two: d versus t, b versus p, g versus k. Korean splits the same mouth positions three ways. You already know the first one from Lesson 2. This lesson adds the other two — and that's all nine remaining consonants at once.
The German shortcut for the tense row. German already makes this sound — after an s. The k in Maske, the t in Fenster, the p in Wespe: no puff, tight, clipped. That's very close to ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ. Say Maske, then say just the ka part — that's 까 .
Phonetically: plain stops are lenis, aspirated have delayed voice onset with a burst of air, and tense are produced with a partially constricted glottis and extra subglottal pressure. Aspirated and tense both raise the pitch of the vowel after them; plain lowers it. (Wikipedia: Korean phonology)
Hangul encodes the three-way contrast in the shapes. Add a stroke for aspirated. Write the letter twice for tense. Nine letters, two rules — the same "added stroke = stronger obstruction" logic you used in Lesson 2. (Wikipedia: Hangul letter design)
And the tense row needs no explanation at all: ㄱㄱ = ㄲ, ㄷㄷ = ㄸ, ㅂㅂ = ㅃ, ㅅㅅ = ㅆ, ㅈㅈ = ㅉ. Their Korean names are literally "double-X" — 쌍기역 is ssang-giyeok, "twin ㄱ". Note that ㅅ is in this row but was not in the aspirated row: Korean has no aspirated S.
This row is the easy one for you. Aspirated ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ are just German K, T, P as you already say them. The hard row was Lesson 2's plain series, where you had to hold the air back. So if a Korean block ever tempts you toward "normal German", it's probably one of these four.
For reading, the tense row costs you almost nothing: you see two of a letter, you say it tight. It only becomes a pronunciation problem if you try to speak Korean, which is not the mission. Recognising the doubled shape is the whole job.
The sound differences are easy. The shape differences are one stroke, and Korean signs are often small, backlit, or half-covered by a tree. These five pairs are where you will actually lose points.
The nastiest one is ㅊ vs ㅎ. You met ㅎ last lesson as "ㅇ with a hat" — but ㅊ wears the same hat. The hat tells you nothing; what's underneath it is the letter. Circle → ㅎ = H. Tent → ㅊ = CH. Compare 하 and 차 .
South Korean signs print romanization underneath the Hangul, and that romanization distinguishes all three series. So the Latin line is a full answer key — you can run any sign backwards to the exact Hangul letter.
| Sound | Plain | Aspirated | Tense |
|---|---|---|---|
| velar | ㄱ g | ㅋ k | ㄲ kk |
| alveolar | ㄷ d | ㅌ t | ㄸ tt |
| labial | ㅂ b | ㅍ p | ㅃ pp |
| affricate | ㅈ j | ㅊ ch | ㅉ jj |
| sibilant | ㅅ s | — none — | ㅆ ss |
One rule, both directions. At the start of a syllable: g d b j = plain, k t p ch = aspirated, doubled letters = tense. See Chuncheon and you know the first letter is ㅊ, not ㅈ. See Pohang and it's ㅍ, not ㅂ. (Revised Romanization)
The exception, at the bottom of a block. A batchim is stopped dead, and the three-way contrast disappears there — so romanization collapses too. Final ㄱ and ㅋ are both written k; final ㄷ ㅌ ㅅ ㅆ ㅈ ㅊ are all written t. That's why 한국 ends in k despite being a plain ㄱ. The decoder above only works on the first letter of a syllable. Lesson 5 covers the collapse properly.
Twelve rounds of the pairs above. Each block differs from its twin by one stroke.
Answer fast — on a sign you get about half a second.
Every one of these was unreadable an hour ago — the aspirated letters are disproportionately common in Korean place names.
| Hangul | Reads | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 인천 | INCHEON | Third-largest city, west of Seoul. The main international airport. |
| 포항 | POHANG | East coast, southeast. Steel city and a big port. |
| 청주 | CHEONGJU | Dead centre of the country. Don't confuse it with 전주 Jeonju. |
| 춘천 | CHUNCHEON | Northeast, lakes and mountains. Two ㅊ in one word. |
| 목포 | MOKPO | Far southwest corner, coastal. |
| 천안 | CHEONAN | Between Seoul and Daejeon — a major rail junction. |
| 파주 | PAJU | Far north, on the DMZ. A 파 here means you're very close to North Korea. |
| 김포 | GIMPO | West of Seoul — the domestic airport. ㄱ plain, ㅍ aspirated, in four letters. |
These are the words painted on car parks, stuck above storefronts and printed on subway exits. Each is worth more on a GeoGuessr round than any city name, because they appear everywhere.
| Hangul | Reads | Meaning & where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| 주차장 | JUCHAJANG | Car park. Blue signs, garage entrances, kerbside markings. |
| 출구 | CHULGU | Exit. Every subway entrance is numbered 1번 출구. |
| 시청 | SICHEONG | City hall. 시 (city) + 청 (office). Names a station in most cities. |
| 아파트 | APATEU | Apartment block. Painted in huge letters on the side of tower blocks. |
| 마트 | MATEU | Supermarket. From English "mart". |
| 식당 | SIKDANG | Restaurant. The most common storefront word in Korea. |
| 치킨 | CHIKIN | Fried chicken. ㅊ and ㅋ side by side — and genuinely on every second street. |
| 커피 | KEOPI | Coffee. ㅋ + ㅓ — remember eo is an "uh". |
| 빵집 | PPANGJIP | Bakery. 빵 (bread) + 집 (house). Your first tense letter in the wild. |
| 피시방 | PISIBANG | Internet café. Also written PC방. Very Korean, very common. |
| 파출소 | PACHULSO | Police box. The small neighbourhood station. |
| 천천히 | CHEONCHEONHI | "Slowly." Painted directly onto the road surface before junctions. |
방 ("room") is a suffix worth banking on its own: 피시방 internet café, 찜질방 sauna, 노래방 karaoke. A storefront ending in 방 is a Korean-specific business type. (Korean address & signage format)
25 of 40 — and that is every consonant Hangul has. All 19. Everything left is vowels.
Next up (Lesson 4): the remaining 15 vowels — the Y-series ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ, the ㅐ/ㅔ pair that sound identical, and the W-combinations. After that, every Hangul block on earth is readable.
The nine new letters, shuffled in with five older ones. Say the sound aloud, then reveal.
Every word uses only your 25 letters. Split each block into slots, then say it aloud.
Space to reveal
1/2/3 to score