Final Consonants · 받침

2. How it works

2.1 What is a batchim

A batchim is a consonant written under the consonant and vowel of a block. The block now has three parts: a first consonant, a vowel, and a final consonant.

Without batchim        With batchim

   ㅂ ㅏ                 ㅂ ㅏ
  = 바   ba              ㅂ
                        = 밥   bap

The final always goes under the consonant and vowel, for both vertical and horizontal vowels. The block stays the same size, and the letters get a little smaller to fit.

2.2 Only 7 sounds at the bottom

At the start of a syllable, Korean has 19 consonants. At the bottom, 16 of them can appear (ㄸ ㅃ ㅉ never do), and they reduce to 7 sounds. Several letters share the same final sound.

The ㄷ group is the biggest. Seven different letters all make the same short "t" sound at the bottom.

2.3 The sounds close to English

Four finals are easy because English has the same sounds at the end of a word. Say them and hold your mouth shut at the end.

ㄴ  n    like the end of "sun"      산 san
ㄹ  l    like the end of "pool"     물 mul
ㅁ  m    like the end of "room"     감 gam
ㅇ  ng   like the end of "song"     강 gang

For ㄹ, touch the tip of your tongue to the ridge behind your upper teeth. Keep it there and do not curl it back.

2.4 The final ㅇ is not silent

At the start of a syllable, ㅇ makes no sound. At the bottom, it is the "ng" sound, like the end of "sing". This is one of the biggest surprises for beginners.

Top of a block      ㅇ  silent       아  a
Bottom of a block   ㅇ  makes "ng"   앙  ang
                                     강  gang

You will not find a separate letter for "ng" at the start of a syllable. The same circle does two jobs, and its position tells you which one.

2.5 Stop sounds are not released

The three finals ㄱ, ㄷ and ㅂ are stop sounds: k, t and p. In English we often release them with a small puff of air, as in "cap". In Korean the mouth closes and the sound simply ends.

ㅂ  p    close both lips          밥  bap    no "puh" at the end
ㄷ  t    tongue touches the ridge 옷  ot     no "tuh" at the end
ㄱ  k    back of tongue lifts     책  chaek  no "kuh" at the end

Try saying "bap" and stop with your lips closed. The silence after the sound is part of the word.

2.6 Two letters at the bottom and linking

Some blocks have two consonants at the bottom. This is called 겹받침. You only pronounce one of them, and which one depends on the word. Here are the common ones.

닭    dak      ㄹ is silent, ㄱ is read
앉다  an-da    ㅈ is silent, ㄴ is read
읽다  ik-da    ㄹ is silent, ㄱ is read
없다  eop-da   ㅅ is silent, ㅂ is read
많다  man-ta   ㄴ is read, ㅎ + ㄷ makes ㅌ

Learn these as whole words. You do not need a rule for each one yet.

One more preview. When the next block starts with ㅇ, the final moves over to it and is read there. So 한국어 is han-gu-geo, and 음악 is eu-mak. Lesson 06 explains this fully.