Korean pronunciation rules: batchim, liaison, nasalisation and tensification
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Korean spelling is consistent, but Korean is not always said the way it is written. Letters change their sound depending on what comes next, which is why 한국어 sounds like "han-gu-geo" and 감사합니다 sounds like "gam-sa-ham-ni-da". The good news is that the changes follow a small number of rules. Learn these and listening gets much easier.
1. Batchim: only seven final sounds
A consonant at the bottom of a syllable (the batchim) is pronounced as one of only seven sounds:
- ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ → [k]: 부엌 is said [부억]
- ㄴ → [n]
- ㄷ, ㅌ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅎ → [t]: 옷 [옫], 낮 [낟], 꽃 [꼳]
- ㄹ → [l]
- ㅁ → [m]
- ㅂ, ㅍ → [p]: 앞 [압]
- ㅇ → [ng]
These final sounds are not released: your mouth closes on them without a puff of air.
2. Liaison (연음): the batchim moves over
When a syllable ending in a consonant is followed by one beginning with silent ㅇ, the consonant slides into the next syllable.
- 한국어 → [한구거]
- 음악 → [으막]
- 옷이 → [오시] (the original ㅅ comes back, not [t])
- 읽어요 → [일거요]
With double batchim, the second consonant moves: 앉아요 → [안자요].
An ㅎ batchim before a vowel usually disappears: 좋아요 → [조아요].
3. Nasalisation (비음화)
When a [k], [t] or [p] sound meets ㄴ or ㅁ, it becomes nasal:
- [k] → [ng]: 한국말 → [한궁말], 학년 → [항년]
- [t] → [n]: 거짓말 → [거진말], 있니 → [인니]
- [p] → [m]: 감사합니다 → [감사함니다], 입니다 → [임니다]
This is why every formal sentence ending in -ㅂ니다 sounds like "-mnida".
4. Tensification (경음화)
After a [k], [t] or [p] final sound, a following ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ or ㅈ becomes tense (doubled):
- 학교 → [학꾜]
- 식당 → [식땅]
- 입구 → [입꾸]
- 젓가락 → [젇까락]
Tensification also happens in some compound words and after certain verb endings, such as -(으)ㄹ followed by a consonant: 할 수 있어요 → [할 쑤 이써요].
5. Aspiration (격음화)
When ㅎ meets ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ or ㅈ (in either order), they merge into the aspirated sound ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ or ㅊ:
- 좋다 → [조타]
- 많다 → [만타]
- 축하해요 → [추카해요]
- 입학 → [이팍]
- 맞히다 → [마치다]
6. The ㄹ rules
- ㄴ next to ㄹ becomes ㄹ (lateralisation): 신라 → [실라], 설날 → [설랄], 연락 → [열락].
- ㄹ after ㅁ or ㅇ becomes ㄴ: 심리 → [심니], 종로 → [종노].
- ㄹ after [k] or [p] becomes ㄴ, which then nasalises the sound before it: 독립 → [동닙], 협력 → [혐녁].
- Between vowels ㄹ is a light flap close to "r" (나라), and at the end of a syllable or doubled it is closer to "l" (말, 빨리).
7. Palatalisation (구개음화)
ㄷ or ㅌ followed by 이 becomes ㅈ or ㅊ:
- 같이 → [가치]
- 굳이 → [구지]
- 해돋이 → [해도지]
Common words worth practising
- 감사합니다 [감사함니다]
- 괜찮아요 [괜차나요]
- 맛있어요 [마시써요]
- 몇 명이에요? [면 명이에요]
- 백만 [뱅만]
- 신라면 [실라면]
- 국물 [궁물]
How to make it stick
- Do not try to memorise every rule before speaking. Learn them as patterns in words you already use.
- Look up pronunciation in a dictionary such as the Naver Korean dictionary, which shows the spoken form in brackets and has audio.
- Shadow native audio sentence by sentence, then record yourself and compare.
Which word surprised you when you first heard it said? Share it, or ask about a word you are not sure how to pronounce, in the comments.