Korean Batchim Cheat Sheet: 27 Final Consonants, 7 Sounds

Korean lets you write 27 different consonant spellings at the bottom of a syllable, but only seven sounds can actually end one: ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ and ㅇ. Every other final either merges into one of those seven or, if a vowel comes next, slides into the next syllable and is heard in full.

This page is a reference you can keep open. The Korean sound changes guide explains what happens when two consonants collide; here we stay with the batchim (받침, batchim, final consonant) itself: what each spelling sounds like, which half of a double final you read, and when it moves.

Checklist 1: The 27 spellings and their 7 sounds

The 27 are 16 single or doubled letters (ㄸ, ㅃ and ㅉ never appear at the bottom) plus 11 two-letter clusters. At the end of a word or before another consonant, here is where each one lands. The Standard Pronunciation rules (표준 발음법) set this out in articles 8 to 11.

Count them: 16 + 11 = 27. The ones that change are all “obstruents”, the stop and hiss sounds. ㄴ, ㄹ, ㅁ and ㅇ are sounded as written, so you only need to learn three groups by heart:

• Becomes ㄱ: ㄲ, ㅋ. 닦다 (dakda) [닥따] dak-tta, to wipe.
• Becomes ㄷ: ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ. 꽃 (kkot) [꼳], flower; 솥 (sot) [솓], pot.
• Becomes ㅂ: ㅍ. 앞 (ap) [압], front; 덮다 (deopda) [덥따] deop-tta, to cover.

A final ㅎ almost never surfaces on its own: it merges with the next consonant or disappears. That case gets its own line in checklist 2.

Checklist 2: Double finals, which letter you read

At the end of a word or before a consonant, only one letter of a cluster is pronounced. Most clusters keep the first letter. Three keep the second. Two have an ㅎ that does its own thing.

A memory hook for the “second letter” group: ㄺ, ㄻ, ㄿ all start with ㄹ, and in each one the ㄹ goes quiet, leaving the ㄱ, ㅁ or ㅂ. Every other cluster keeps its first letter.

The exceptions worth memorizing

The rules above have three official exceptions, and two of them come up in everyday words:

1. 밟다 is read with ㅂ. The verb “to step on” breaks the ㄼ rule before any consonant: 밟다 (bapda) [밥따] bap-tta, 밟고 (bapgo) [밥꼬] bap-kko. Before ㄴ the ㅂ turns nasal, so 밟는 is [밤는] bam-neun.
2. 넓- is read with ㅂ in two words: 넓죽하다 (neopjukada) [넙쭈카다], to be long and broad, and 넓둥글다 (neopdunggeulda) [넙뚱글다], to be broad and round. Plain 넓다 still follows the rule: [널따].
3. A verb stem in ㄺ is read with ㄹ before ㄱ. 읽다 is [익따], but 읽고 (ilgo) is [일꼬] il-kko and 맑게 (malge) is [말께] mal-kke, clearly. This applies only to verbs and adjectives, so the noun 닭 stays [닥].

Other common ㄼ words follow the main rule: 짧다 (jjalda) [짤따], to be short; 얇다 (yalda) [얄따], to be thin.

For the ㅎ clusters, the ㅎ behaves like a final ㅎ anywhere. Before ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅈ it merges into ㅋ, ㅌ or ㅊ (않고 [안코], and not). Before ㅅ it makes the ㅅ tense (많소 [만쏘], there are many, in an old-fashioned style). Before ㄴ it drops (않는 [안는], that doesn’t). Before a vowel it vanishes (싫어도 [시러도], even if you don’t like it).

Checklist 3: Linking (연음), when the final moves over

When the next syllable starts with a silent ㅇ, the batchim no longer has to fit the seven-sound rule. It moves over and is said with its real sound. This linking, 연음 (yeoneum), is in articles 13 to 15.

• Single or doubled final + ending or particle: the whole letter moves. 옷이 (osi) [오시], clothes (subject); 꽃을 (kkocheul) [꼬츨], the flower (object); 있어 (isseo) [이써], there is; 부엌에 (bueoke) [부어케], in the kitchen.
• Double final + vowel: the first letter stays, the second moves. 앉아 (anja) [안자], sit; 닭을 (dalgeul) [달글]; 젊어 (jeolmeo) [절머], young; 읊어 (eulpeo) [을퍼].
• A moving ㅅ from ㄳ or ㅄ turns tense. 값을 (gapseul) [갑쓸], the price (object); 없어 (eopseo) [업써], there isn’t; 넋이 (neoksi) [넉씨].
• ㅎ doesn’t move, it disappears. 좋아 (joa) [조아], good; 많아 (mana) [마나], a lot.
• ㅇ never moves. 강이 (gang-i) is [강이], river (subject). The ng sound can’t start a syllable in Korean.

You will hear the left-hand versions in everyday speech, and the National Institute of Korean Language’s commentary on the rules names them directly as non-standard. If you are learning, aim for the standard: keep both letters of the cluster and say the real final.

The exception: when the next word is a real word

Linking with the full sound only happens before a grammar ending or particle (이, 을, 에, -아/어 and so on). When the vowel starts a new word with its own meaning, the final first shrinks to its seven-sound form, and that form moves over:

Compare 꽃이 [꼬치] (particle, full ㅊ) with 꽃 위 [꼬뒤] (new word, ㄷ). The odd one out is 맛있다 (masitda, delicious). By the rule it should be [마딛따], but because almost everyone says [마싣따], both are accepted as standard. 멋있다 (meositda, cool) is the same: [머딛따] or [머싣따].

To check a single final, say the word with a particle added. 부엌 alone hides its ㅋ, but 부엌에 [부어케] shows it. This is also how to tell which spelling is right when two finals sound identical: 낫, 낮 and 낯 are all [낟] alone, but 낮에 [나제] and 낯이 [나치] give them away.

What to do next

Start with checklist 1 until the three groups (ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ) are automatic, then learn the second-letter clusters ㄺ, ㄻ, ㄿ and the 밟다 exception. That covers nearly every batchim word you will read as a beginner.

To see where each final sits inside a block, the Hangul syllable blocks walkthrough builds 닭 letter by letter. Then listen to each consonant in the Hangul chart and paste words like 읽고 or 값을 into the romanizer to check how they come out.

Sources: National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원), Standard Pronunciation Rules (표준 발음법), articles 8–15 and commentary (korean.go.kr); Korean Orthography (한글 맞춤법); Romanization of Korean (2000).

We follow the rules of the National Institute of Korean Language. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.