A mobile terminal including a wireless communication unit configured to provide wireless communication; a display unit; a sensing unit configured to sense a plurality of taps applied to the display unit; and a controller configured to control the display unit to be in a deactivated state, receive a plurality of taps applied to the display unit in the deactivated state, and execute a voice recognition function while maintaining the display unit in the deactivated state, when a pattern formed by the plurality of taps matches a preset pattern.