1 · Hangul and the sound rules
Final consonants: seven sounds at the end of a block
the batchim
Many letters can close a syllable, but only seven sounds are said there.
The consonant at the bottom of a block is called 받침, “the support”. Almost any consonant can be written there, but only seven sounds can be said there: k, n, t, l, m, p and ng. Every written final is said as one of them: ㄱ, ㅋ and ㄲ as k; ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ and ㅎ as t; ㅂ and ㅍ as p; ㄴ, ㄹ, ㅁ and ㅇ as themselves. So 낮 (daytime), 낫 (sickle) and 낯 (face) are all said nat, and 부엌 (kitchen) ends in a k.
A final k, t or p is not released. English lets a little air out at the end of “cap” or “cat”; Korean closes the mouth and stops there. 밥 (rice, a meal) ends with the lips shut, and 옷 (clothes) with the tongue pressed against the ridge behind the teeth and held. An English speaker who releases these sounds, or adds a little vowel after them, sounds as if the word had a second syllable.
Eleven finals are written with two letters, among them ㄳ, ㄵ, ㄶ, ㄺ, ㄻ, ㄼ, ㅀ and ㅄ. Before a consonant or at the end of a word only one of the two is said: 값 (price) is gap, 닭 (chicken) is dak, 여덟 (eight) is yeodeol. Before a vowel both are heard, the first at the end of its block and the second at the start of the next: 닭이 is dalgi, 앉아요 (I sit) is anjayo.
Why keep letters that are not heard? Because a word keeps one spelling in every form, and the hidden letter comes back the moment a vowel follows: 옷 is ot, but 옷이 is osi; 꽃 (flower) is kkot, but 꽃이 is kkochi. The final also decides the form of nearly every particle after a noun — 책을 after a consonant, 커피를 after a vowel — so the first thing to look at in a new noun is the bottom of its last block.
The form
| said k: ㄱ ㅋ ㄲ | 책 부엌 밖 |
| said t: ㄷ ㅅ ㅆ ㅈ ㅊ ㅌ ㅎ | 곧 옷 낮 꽃 밭 |
| said p: ㅂ ㅍ | 밥 앞 |
| n, l, m, ng: as written | 산 물 밤 강 |
| two letters, one sound | 값 닭 삶 여덟 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
At the end of a syllable only seven sounds exist: k, n, t, l, m, p and ng.
옷도 책도 다 샀어요.I have bought the clothes and the books — everything.
A final k, t or p is not released: the mouth closes and stays closed.
밥 먹고 가요.I will eat and then go.
Before a consonant, a double final keeps only one of its two letters.
사과 값도 비싸고 닭고기도 비싸요.Apples are expensive, and chicken is expensive too.
Before a vowel, both letters of a double final are heard.
여기 앉으세요.Please sit here.
Whether a noun ends in a final consonant decides the form of the particle after it.
물을 마시고 커피를 마셔요.I drink some water and then a coffee.
A closer look
Which half of a double final is said
For most double finals the first letter is said: ㄳ, ㄵ, ㄼ, ㄽ, ㄾ and ㅄ, as in 몫 (share) mok, 여덟 yeodeol and 없다 (there is not) eopda. For ㄺ, ㄻ and ㄿ it is the second: 닭 dak, 삶 (life) sam.
Three refinements. In a verb or an adjective, ㄺ keeps its ㄹ before ㄱ, so 읽다 (to read) is ikda but 읽고 is ilgo; in a noun it does not, and 닭고기 (chicken meat) is dakgogi. ㄼ, normally said as l (넓다, wide, is neolda), is said as p in the verb 밟다 (to step on). And a double final with ㅎ in it, ㄶ or ㅀ, lets the ㅎ merge with the next consonant, so 많다 (many) is manta — that belongs to the topic on aspiration.
Exceptions and special cases (2)
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the verb is 밟다 (to step on)
say the ㅂ, not the ㄹ, before a consonant: 밟지 is bapji.
잔디를 밟지 마세요.Please keep off the grass.
The standard pronunciation names this verb on its own; in nearly every other word ㄼ is said as l before a consonant.
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ㄺ at the end of a verb or adjective stem comes before ㄱ
the ㄹ is said instead of the ㄱ: 읽고 is ilgo, 맑게 (clearly) is malge.
책을 읽고 자요.I read a book and then go to sleep.
The standard pronunciation makes this exception for verb and adjective stems only; in a noun such as 닭고기 the ㄱ is said.
How to spot it
- 받침
- 값
- 닭
- 앉다
- 없다
Example sentences
꽃 한 송이 주세요.One flower, please.
옷 가게는 어디예요?Where is the clothes shop?
부엌 창문 좀 열어 주세요.Could you open the kitchen window, please?
밥 먹었어요?Have you eaten?
여덟 시에 만나요.Let’s meet at eight.
이 책은 값이 싸요.This book is cheap.
8 more example sentences
앞 사람을 따라가세요.Follow the person in front.
밖은 추워요.It is cold outside.
낮에는 더워요.It is hot in the daytime.
지갑에 돈이 없어요.There is no money in my wallet.
오늘 저녁은 닭고기예요.This evening it is chicken.
곧 도착해요.I will arrive soon.
강이 넓고 산이 높아요.The river is wide and the mountains are high.
밭에서 일해요.I work in the field.
Worth knowing (1)
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Why the word for bus has two blocks
English “bus” ends in s, but an ㅅ at the end of a Korean syllable would be said t. So a loanword keeps its final s audible by giving it a vowel of its own, usually ㅡ: 버스 (bus), 주스 (juice), 테니스 (tennis). A final k that should be heard is treated the same way: 케이크 (cake).
버스를 타고 학교에 가요.I go to school by bus.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The final of 옷 sounds like a t, so learners write ㄷ. But the word is spelt with ㅅ, and the spelling shows itself as soon as a vowel follows: 옷이 is osi, 옷을 is oseul. When you learn a word, learn its written final, not only its sound.
Seven sounds at the end of a block; the spelling keeps the rest for when a vowel follows.
Your turn
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