1 · Hangul and the sound rules
Linking: 먹어요 sounds like 머거요
carrying a final consonant over to the next syllable
A final consonant before a vowel is said at the start of the next syllable — and ㅎ there falls silent.
When a syllable ends in a consonant and the next one begins with a vowel — that is, with the silent ㅇ — the consonant moves over and is said at the start of the next syllable. 먹어요 (I eat) is said [머거요], meogeoyo; 한국어 (Korean) is [한구거], hangugeo; 음악 (music) is [으막], eumak. This is the most frequent sound rule in the language, and the reason a Korean word heard aloud rarely seems to have the syllables it is written with.
It happens wherever a vowel follows inside one word, and a particle or an ending counts as part of the word: 책을 is [채글], 집에 is [지베]. The consonant moves as it is written, not as it would sound at the end: 옷이 is [오시] with an s, 꽃이 is [꼬치], 부엌에 is [부어케]. Of a double final only the second letter moves: 읽어요 is [일거요], 앉아요 is [안자요].
Two consonants never move. ㅇ at the end of a syllable is ng, and ng stays where it is: 영어 (English) is yeongeo, with the ng closing the first block. And ㅎ disappears: 좋아요 (it is good) is [조아요], 놓아요 (I put it down) is [노아요]. In ㄶ and ㅀ the ㅎ falls silent and the other letter moves: 많아요 (there are many) is [마나요], 싫어요 (I do not like it) is [시러요].
The romanisation on this site writes what is heard, linking included, but only inside a word, as the official romanisation does. Across a space each word is romanised for itself, even though in fluent speech the words of a phrase run together as well. Two habits help an English speaker: read a word as one unit rather than block by block, and never write what you hear — 한국어 keeps its ㄱ at the bottom of 국, whatever the ear says.
The form
| a final consonant before a vowel moves | 먹어요 → [머거요] |
| noun and particle | 책을 → [채글] |
| it moves as written | 옷이 → [오시] |
| double final: the second letter moves | 읽어요 → [일거요] |
| ㅎ before a vowel falls silent | 좋아요 → [조아요] |
| ng stays where it is | 영어 → [영어] |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
A final consonant before a vowel is said at the start of the next syllable.
저는 음악을 좋아해요.I like music.
A particle or an ending counts as part of the word, so the consonant links into it.
지금 책을 읽어요.I am reading a book now.
The consonant moves as it is written, not as it would sound at the end of a word.
옷이 정말 예뻐요.The clothes are really pretty.
Of a double final only the second letter moves.
여기 앉아도 돼요?May I sit here?
ㅎ before a vowel falls silent.
날씨가 좋아요.The weather is good.
A closer look
Why the spelling does not follow the sound
Korean spelling writes each word and each ending in one fixed shape, whatever happens to it in speech. The stem 먹 (eat) is said three ways — 먹어요 [머거요], 먹고 [먹꼬], 먹는 meongneun — and written one way. A reader therefore sees the word at once, and the sound rules supply the pronunciation.
For a learner this cuts both ways. Reading is easier than it sounds, because every form of a verb looks like the verb. Writing down a word heard for the first time is harder, because the ear hears [머거요] and the spelling wants 먹어요. The rules on these pages run in both directions: forwards to speak, backwards to spell.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the second part is a word in its own right, not a particle or an ending
the final is first said as one of the seven end sounds and only then moves: 맛없어요 (it tastes bad) is [마덥써요], not [마섭써요].
이 빵은 좀 맛없어요.This bread does not taste very good.
A compound is two words written together, and the first one is pronounced as if it ended there. 맛있어요 (it is tasty) is the famous exception: the standard accepts both [마시써요] and [마디써요], and almost everybody says the first.
How to spot it
- -아요
- -어요
- 을
- 이
- 에
Example sentences
저는 한국어를 배워요.I am learning Korean.
집에 가요.I am going home.
동생이 빵을 먹어요.My younger sibling is eating bread.
지금 시간이 없어요.I have no time right now.
사람이 정말 많아요.There are really a lot of people.
저는 매운 음식이 싫어요.I don’t like spicy food.
8 more example sentences
일요일에 만나요.Let’s meet on Sunday.
꽃이 예뻐요.The flowers are pretty.
부엌에 엄마가 있어요.Mum is in the kitchen.
신문을 읽어요.I am reading the newspaper.
괜찮아요.It’s all right.
밖에 비가 와요.It is raining outside.
영어를 가르쳐요.I teach English.
책을 책상 위에 놓아요.I put the book on the desk.
Worth knowing (2)
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A weak h inside a word
After a vowel or after ㄴ, ㄹ, ㅁ and ㅇ, an ㅎ at the start of a syllable is often barely heard in relaxed speech: 전화 (telephone) sounds close to [저놔], 결혼 (marriage) to [겨론]. The romanisation keeps the h — jeonhwa, gyeolhon — because a careful speaker still says it.
전화번호가 뭐예요?What is your phone number?
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Across a space in fluent speech
In fluent speech a final consonant also links into the next word of a phrase when that word begins with a vowel: 집 안 (inside the house) sounds like [지반]. The romanisation keeps the words apart, jip an.
아이들이 집 안에서 놀아요.The children are playing inside the house.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Written as heard, the word is hard for a Korean to read: the ㄱ belongs to 국 (country), and 어 (language) begins with a vowel. Linking changes how a word sounds, never how it is written.
A final consonant before a vowel jumps to the next syllable — in the mouth, never on the page.
Your turn
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