Step 4 · Words
Words in the order they get harder to read
Most beginner word lists group by meaning — family, food, colours. That is good for memorising and useless for reading. These are grouped by how hard they are to read.
1No final consonant
Every syllable here is one consonant plus one vowel. Read them left to right, top to bottom — nothing is hiding underneath.
2One final consonant
Now a third letter sits under the block. It closes the syllable — say it, but stop the air instead of releasing it.
| Written | Said | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 꽃 | 꼳 kkot | ㅊ at the end of a block is pronounced as a plain t sound. |
3Where writing and sound part ways
Korean spelling keeps the word’s shape even when the sound changes next to a neighbour. These are the few rules where what you read is not quite what you say — and they are regular, so they are worth learning as rules rather than as exceptions.
| Written | Said | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 국물 | 궁물 gungmul | ㄱ before ㅁ turns into ㅇ. A stop next to a nasal becomes a nasal. |
| 좋아요 | 조아요 joayo | ㅎ between a vowel and a vowel goes silent. |
| 같이 | 가치 gachi | ㅌ followed by 이 becomes ㅊ. |
| 신라 | 실라 silla | ㄴ next to ㄹ becomes ㄹ. |
| 학년 | 항년 hangnyeon | ㄱ before ㄴ turns into ㅇ — the same nasal rule as 국물. |
| 값이 | 갑씨 gapsi | A double final consonant splits: one stays, one moves to the next block. |
| 먹어요 | 머거요 meogeoyo | A final consonant slides into the next block when that block starts with ㅇ. |
| 한국어 | 한구거 hangugeo | Same slide: the ㄱ of 국 moves over to 어. |
Not fluently, and not fast — but the letters are no longer a wall. Everything from here is words and habits, and you already know how to sound out any block you meet.