Final Consonants
Korean Alphabet 1
Course 1 · Chapter 9 · Final Consonants
받침 — The Floor of the Block
So far every block has been a consonant and a vowel. Many blocks have a third letter at the bottom: a final consonant, called batchim (받침, "support"). This chapter teaches no new letters. It teaches a new position, and one surprise: at the bottom of a block, the fourteen consonants sound like only a few.
Writing a Final Consonant
Wikipedia says that if a block has a final consonant, it is written at the bottom. The block is then three layers: initial, vowel, final.
| Block | Initial | Vowel | Final | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 산 | ㅅ | ㅏ | ㄴ | san |
| 밥 | ㅂ | ㅏ | ㅂ | bap |
| 방 | ㅂ | ㅏ | ㅇ | bang |
| 날 | ㄴ | ㅏ | ㄹ | nal |
| 밤 | ㅂ | ㅏ | ㅁ | bam |
The final is always written at the bottom of the block, under the initial and the vowel.
Fourteen Letters, Seven Sounds
At the bottom of a block the sound is not the sound at the start. Wikipedia's table gives these final values:
| Final sound | IPA | Written with |
|---|---|---|
| k | /k̚/ | ㄱ ㅋ |
| n | /n/ | ㄴ |
| t | /t̚/ | ㄷ ㅅ ㅈ ㅊ ㅌ ㅎ |
| l | /ɭ/ | ㄹ |
| m | /m/ | ㅁ |
| p | /p̚/ | ㅂ ㅍ |
| ng | /ŋ/ | ㅇ |
- Seven sounds. The page does not state a number; counting the distinct values in its table gives seven, and the beginner guides found in a web search also say that the finals shrink to seven sounds.
- The little corner mark (˺) in /k̚/, /t̚/ and /p̚/ means the sound is unreleased: the mouth closes for the sound and stays closed, with no puff. A guide in the search gives 밖 as an example, pronounced like 박.
- ㅇ has two jobs. It is silent at the start of a block and is "ng" at the end (as in 방).
- Why it matters. Different written finals can sound the same (ㄷ ㅅ ㅈ ㅊ ㅌ ㅎ all end in "t"), so the spelling of a final cannot always be heard from the sound.
A Final Consonant Moves Forward
When the next block starts with a silent ㅇ, the final consonant slides over to it. The web search gives these examples:
| Written | Said as | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 밥을 | ba-beul | the ㅂ of 밥 moves to the empty ㅇ of 을 |
| 집에 | ji-be | the ㅂ of 집 moves to the empty ㅇ of 에 |
| 한국어 | han-gu-geo | the ㄱ of 한국 moves to the empty ㅇ of 어 |
The new blocks 을, 에 and 어 use letters beyond this course's basic set (ㅔ is a compound vowel), but the point is the movement of the final consonant.
Read It — Words with a Final
| # | Word | Romanisation | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 산 | san | mountain | a beginner guide gives this |
| 2 | 밥 | bap | rice, a meal | a beginner guide gives "rice" |
| 3 | 방 | bang | room | a beginner guide gives this |
| 4 | 날 | nal | day | a beginner guide gives this |
| 5 | 밤 | bam | night; chestnut | one spelling, two meanings, per the guide |
| 6 | 한글 | han-geul | Hangul | the name of the script; the page gives its sound as han-geul |
| 7 | 물 | mul | water | see the Not Yet Verified box |
Try It Yourself — 연습
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. Read these blocks aloud: 산 · 밥 · 방 · 날 · 밤 · 물
Show answer
san · bap · bang · nal · bam · mul
2. What sound does ㅇ make at the start of a block, and at the end?
Show answer
Silent at the start; "ng" at the end.
3. Which of ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ and ㅌ sound the same as ㄷ at the end of a block? Which final sound do ㅋ and ㄱ share?
Show answer
All of them sound like "t" at the end. ㅋ and ㄱ both end in "k".
4. Break 산, 밥 and 방 into initial, vowel and final.
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산: ㅅ ㅏ ㄴ · 밥: ㅂ ㅏ ㅂ · 방: ㅂ ㅏ ㅇ
5. Write in Hangul: san · bap · nal · han-geul
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산 · 밥 · 날 · 한글
6. Why is 밥을 said "ba-beul" and not "bap-eul"?
Show answer
The next block (을) begins with a silent ㅇ, so the final ㅂ of 밥 moves forward into it.