Korean 받침 (Batchim) Guide: Master Final Consonants and Sound Changes

What is 받침 (Batchim)?

받침 (batchim) refers to the final consonant at the bottom of a Korean syllable block. Understanding batchim is essential for proper Korean pronunciation.

The 7 Representative Sounds

In Korean, there are only 7 final consonant sounds, regardless of the written consonant:

Sound	Written as
ㄱ [k]	ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ
ㄴ [n]	ㄴ
ㄷ [t]	ㄷ, ㅌ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅎ
ㄹ [l]	ㄹ
ㅁ [m]	ㅁ
ㅂ [p]	ㅂ, ㅍ
ㅇ [ng]	ㅇ

Key Pronunciation Rules

Rule 1: Unreleased Sounds

Final consonants are not released - your mouth forms the position but doesn't release air.

책 [chaek] - Your tongue touches the roof but doesn't release
밥 [bap] - Your lips close but don't pop open

Rule 2: Liaison (연음화)

When a syllable ending in batchim is followed by a syllable starting with ㅇ, the batchim moves to the ㅇ position.

한국어 → [한구거] (hangugeo)
먹어요 → [머거요] (meogeoyo)
읽어요 → [일거요] (ilgeoyo)

Rule 3: Double Batchim

Some syllables have two consonants at the bottom. Rules for which to pronounce:

Left consonant pronounced:

• ㄳ → ㄱ (삯 → [삭])


• ㄵ → ㄴ (앉다 → [안따])


• ㄶ → ㄴ (많다 → [만타])


• ㄺ → ㄱ (읽다 → [익따])


• ㄻ → ㅁ (삶 → [삼])


• ㄼ → ㄹ (넓다 → [널따])


• ㄾ → ㄹ (핥다 → [할따])

Right consonant pronounced:


• ㄿ → ㅂ (읊다 → [읍따])


• ㅀ → ㄹ (잃다 → [일타])


• ㄽ → ㄹ (곬 → [골])

Sound Change Rules

Nasalization (비음화)

ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ before ㄴ, ㅁ become nasal sounds:

학년 [항년] (ㄱ→ㅇ)
국민 [궁민] (ㄱ→ㅇ)
십만 [심만] (ㅂ→ㅁ)
받는 [반는] (ㄷ→ㄴ)

Aspiration (격음화)

ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅈ + ㅎ become aspirated:

축하 [추카] (ㄱ+ㅎ→ㅋ)
좋다 [조타] (ㅎ+ㄷ→ㅌ)
급하다 [그파다] (ㅂ+ㅎ→ㅍ)

Fortition (경음화)

After batchim, certain consonants become tense:

학교 [학꾜] (ㄱ+ㄱ→ㄱㄲ)
숙제 [숙쩨] (ㄱ+ㅈ→ㄱㅉ)
읽다 [익따] (ㄱ+ㄷ→ㄱㄸ)

Practice Words

Written	Pronounced	Meaning
있어요	[이써요]	there is
없어요	[업써요]	there isn't
좋아요	[조아요]	it's good
읽어요	[일거요]	I read
닫아요	[다다요]	I close
같이	[가치]	together

TOPIK Listening Tips

1. Practice hearing unreleased final consonants
2. Listen for liaison connections
3. Be aware of nasalization in compound words
4. Practice with native audio regularly