Pronunciation Guide: 발음 규칙

1 Batchim — Syllable-Final Consonants (받침)

A batchim (받침, literally "support") is a consonant placed at the bottom of a Korean syllable block. For example, in the syllable 강, the ㅇ at the bottom is the batchim. Not all syllables have a batchim — many end with just the vowel.

Although many consonants can appear as batchim in spelling, they all reduce to 7 possible sounds when pronounced. This is called the "7 rules of batchim" (받침 7종성).

2 Liaison — Linking Sound (연음화)

When a syllable ending in a batchim is immediately followed by a syllable that begins with the silent ㅇ, the batchim consonant moves forward and becomes the initial consonant of the next syllable. The spelling stays the same; only the pronunciation shifts.

This rule makes spoken Korean sound flowing and connected. It is one of the most frequent pronunciation phenomena you will hear.

3 Nasal Assimilation (비음화)

When a stop consonant batchim (ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ group) is followed by the nasal consonants ㄴ or ㅁ, it assimilates and changes to its corresponding nasal sound. This is purely articulatory — nasal consonants require the velum to lower, which pulls nearby stops into nasal territory.

4 Tensification (경음화)

After certain batchim consonants, the following consonant becomes tensed (doubled). This happens most predictably after unreleased stop batchim sounds — the ㄱ, ㄷ, and ㅂ groups. The written form does not change; only the pronunciation shifts.

5 ㅎ Weakening (ㅎ 약화)

The consonant ㅎ is one of Korean's most unstable sounds. It weakens significantly — often to near-silence — when it appears between vowels. In other positions, it combines with adjacent consonants to create aspirated sounds.

ㅎ Between Vowels → Nearly Silent

ㅎ + Consonant → Aspiration

When ㅎ batchim meets the next syllable's consonant (or vice versa), the two merge into a single aspirated consonant.

6 Palatalization (구개음화)

When the consonants ㄷ or ㅌ appear as batchim and are followed by the vowel 이 (i), they change into ㅈ and ㅊ respectively. This shift is called palatalization — the consonant moves from the tooth ridge to the palate to anticipate the front vowel.

7 The ㄹ Sound (리을)

The Korean consonant ㄹ is often described as "between r and l" — and that is precisely correct. Its exact realisation depends on position within the syllable. Mastering ㄹ is one of the first major pronunciation goals for learners.

8 Common Mistakes for English Speakers

Korean and English have very different phonological systems. Below are the six most common pronunciation errors made by English speakers — with clear explanations of how to correct them.