PixelSpeechKorean final consonants (batchim): the 7 sounds and how to say them
Korean uses many different letters at the bottom of a syllable, but they collapse into only seven sounds. Learn the seven, learn which letters merge into them, and most batchim problems go away.
The 7 final sounds
| Sound | Letters that make this sound | Examples | How to say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ [k] | ㄱ ㅋ ㄲ | 책, 부엌 [부억], 밖 [박] | Back of the tongue closes against the soft palate. Hold it. No burst of air. |
| ㄴ [n] | ㄴ | 산, 눈 | Tongue tip on the ridge behind the upper teeth, air through the nose. |
| ㄷ [t] | ㄷ ㅌ ㅅ ㅆ ㅈ ㅊ ㅎ | 옷 [옫], 낮 [낟], 꽃 [꼳], 밭 [받] | Tongue tip closes on the ridge. Hold it. No burst, no "s" sound. |
| ㄹ [l] | ㄹ | 물, 말 | Tongue tip touches the ridge and stays there. A clear "l", not an English dark "l" and not an "r". |
| ㅁ [m] | ㅁ | 밤, 감 | Lips closed, air through the nose. |
| ㅂ [p] | ㅂ ㅍ | 밥, 앞 [압] | Lips close and stay closed. No puff of air. |
| ㅇ [ng] | ㅇ | 강, 방 | Like "ng" in "sing". Back of the tongue up, air through the nose. |
Drill: say 가 with each final sound in a row: 각 · 간 · 갇 · 갈 · 감 · 갑 · 강. Keep the vowel the same and only change what your tongue and lips do at the end.
Unreleased stops: why 책 is not "chae-ku"
Final ㄱ, ㄷ and ㅂ are unreleased. You make the closure and stop the air, then simply stop. You do not open again with a puff of air, and you never add a vowel after them.
- 책 ends with the back of the tongue pressed up. It is not "chae-k-uh".
- 밥 ends with the lips closed. Your lips should still be together when the word is over.
- 옷 ends with the tongue tip on the ridge. There is no "s" at the end, even though the letter is ㅅ.
When the final consonant moves: linking
If the next syllable starts with the silent ㅇ, the final consonant moves into that empty slot. When it moves, it gets its original sound back.
| Written | Alone | With a vowel after |
|---|---|---|
| 옷 + 이 | 옷 [옫] | 옷이 [오시] |
| 꽃 + 이 | 꽃 [꼳] | 꽃이 [꼬치] |
| 앞 + 에 | 앞 [압] | 앞에 [아페] |
| 음 + 악 | - | 음악 [으막] |
When the final consonant changes: nasalization
Before ㄴ or ㅁ, the final sounds ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ turn into the nasal sounds ㅇ ㄴ ㅁ. This is why the most common phrase in Korean is not said the way it is spelled.
- 감사합니다 is said [감사함니다]
- 국물 is said [궁물]
- 받는 is said [반는]
Double final consonants
Some syllables have two final letters, such as 닭 or 값. Before a consonant or at the end of a word, usually only one of them is pronounced: 닭 [닥], 값 [갑], 읽다 [익따]. Before a vowel, both are heard: 닭이 [달기].
Common batchim mistakes by native language
| Native language | Common mistake | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| English | Releasing final ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ with a puff of air; using a dark "l" or "r" for final ㄹ | Freeze your mouth in the closed position at the end. Keep the tongue tip touching for ㄹ. |
| Japanese | Adding a vowel after the final consonant (책 becoming "chekku"); mixing ㄴ ㅁ ㅇ at the end | Cut the word at the consonant. Check the lips: closed for ㅁ, open for ㄴ and ㅇ. |
| Chinese | Dropping final ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ because Mandarin syllables do not end in these sounds; final ㄹ sounding like "r" | Make the closure even if it feels silent. Practice 밥, 책, 옷 slowly. |
| Vietnamese | Final ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ are often easier because Vietnamese has similar unreleased endings; final ㄹ is often harder | Focus on ㄹ endings such as 물, 말, 일 and on linking. |
These are tendencies, not rules. The fastest way to know your own pattern is to check which final consonants you actually miss.
Check your own batchim
PixelSpeech scores the final consonant of every syllable separately from the first consonant and the vowel, so you can see whether it was the ㄱ in 책 or the vowel that went wrong. It remembers your weak final sounds, ranks them, and gives you tongue and lip coaching and daily practice sentences built from them.
Find your weak final consonants
Free on iPhone and Android. About 5 minutes.