Korean contrasts consonants by tension and breath where English uses voicing, keeps one liquid where English keeps two, and releases nothing at the end of a syllable. Those three habits, plus the th pair, generate almost every item below.
Each one links a head-to-head page with audio for both sides.
ㄹ covers both liquids by position. English r never touches anywhere — the tongue curls back and the sound comes from the shape alone.
Hear the pair side by side →And English l always touches: tongue tip firm on the ridge behind the teeth, held, even between vowels.
Hear the pair side by side →Korean has no θ, so think drifts toward sink (often via ss). The tongue tip goes between the teeth — forward of any Korean s.
Hear the pair side by side →The voiced th of this is not ㄷ: the tongue slides between the teeth and buzzes instead of tapping.
Hear the pair side by side →Korean writes v with ㅂ, so very leans toward berry. For v the teeth rest on the lip and the air keeps flowing — no closure.
Hear the pair side by side →The zh of vision has no hangul of its own and ㅈ steps in. Vision wants the smooth buzz with no stop in front.
Hear the pair side by side →Since ㅐ and ㅔ merged, apple's vowel needs a deliberate opening: jaw wider, tongue lower than either.
Hear the pair side by side →English splits i into ship and sheep — the short one is quicker and laxer than ㅣ.
Hear the pair side by side →Korean never releases a final stop, and unreleased d reads as t to English ears. Bed ends voiced, with a small real release.
Hear the pair side by side →Which of these are actually yours? That is the part no list can know.
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