In syllable-initial position, standard Korean distinguishes among plain, aspirated, and tense consonants, such as /k/, /kʰ/, and /k͈/.

Zainichi Korean, on the other hand, distinguishes only between unvoiced and voiced consonants (/k/ and /ɡ/), as in Japanese.

In Zainichi Korean, the same idea is expressed as cha-e tanda (차에 탄다; "car-into ride"), just like Japanese kuruma ni noru (車に乗る).

Standard Korean distinguishes hae itda (해 있다, referring to a continuous state) and hago itda (하고 있다, referring to a continuous action).

In much the same way, Standard Korean speakers retain the grapheme difference between ae ㅐ and e ㅔ, even though they may pronounce the two identically.