koreaboo | learning korean

└ 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 받침

Korean writing is visualized in blocks representing syllables, each composed with an initial consonant, (medial) vowel or diphthong, and an ending composed of one or two consonants (받침 /batchim/).

Batchim (받침) is the lower or bottom position in the korean syllable. It is a little bit complicated to read especially to those who study Korean as their second language but! I am here to help you!

I'm gonna show you the final consonants and how to read it.

ㄱ,ㅋ,ㄲ,ᆪ = ㄱ /g,k/
ㄷ,ㅌ,ㅅ,ㅆ,ㅈ,ㅊ,ㅎ = ㄷ /d,t/
ㅁ,ᆱ = ㅁ /m/
ㄹ,ᆲ,ᆶ,ᆴ = ㄹ /l,r/
ㄴ,ᆬ,ᆭ = ㄴ /n/
ㅂ,ㅍ,ᆹ,ᆵ = ㅂ /b,p/
ㅇ = ㅇ /ng/

However, consonants on 받침 may sound different depending on what syllable is next to it. Example:

• 있어 (isseo) (conjugation of to have/exist): people often mispronounce this as 있.어요 (iss-eo-yo) when it should sound more like 이써요 (i-sseo-yo).
•있다 mispronounced as /iss-da/ when it should be /itt-da/.

• 받침 mispronounced as /bad-chim/ when it should be /bat-chim/

You see, it's a little bit complicated but i know you get the hang of it! Imma give you more examples!

The first word will be the proper spelling of the korean word, then next is the mispronounced word, and beside it will be the same word but a tip on how to pronounce it. Ready?

1. ㄱ (기역)
• 한국 [han-guk] (Korea) + ㅇ
한국어 [han-guk-eo] - 한국어 [han-gu-geo]

• 먹다 [meok-ta] (to eat) + ㅇ
먹어요 [meok-eoyo] - 먹어요 [meo-geo-yo]

2. ㄷ (디귿)
• 꽃 [kkot] (flower) + ㅇ
꽃을 [kkoch-eul] - 꽃을 [kko-cheul]

•있다 [itt-da] (to have/exist) + ㅇ
있어요 [iss-eo-yo] - 있어요 [i-sseo-yeo]

3. ㅁ (미음)
- everything that has ㅁ in the 받침, generally takes on that syllable
• 마음 [ma-eum] (heart) + ㅇ
마음이 [ma-eum-i] - 마음이 [ma-eu-mi]

4. ㄹ (리을)
• 별 [byeol] (star) + ㅇ
별이 [byeol-i] - 별이 [byeo-li]

• 핥다 [haltta] (to lick) + ㅇ
핥은 [halt-eun] - 핥은 [hal-teun]

5. ㄴ (니은)
• 돈 [don] (money) + ㅇ
돈이 [don-i] - 돈이 [do-ni]

• 앉다 [an-ta] (to sit)
앉으세요 [anj-euseyo] - 앉으세요 [an-jeuseyo]

6. ㅂ (비읍)
• 없다 [eob-da] (to not have/exist) + ㅇ
없어요 [eobs-eoyo] - 없어요 [eob-seoyo]

•앞 [ap] (front) + ㅇ
앞에 [ap-e] - 앞에 [a-pe]

7. ㅇ (이응)
• 사랑 [sa-rang] (love)
• 행복 [haeng-bok] (happiness)

"Wait gommy-ssi! What about ㅅ and ㅆ!?"

Ok, chill. You must remember that when ㅆ is in 받침 and a consonant follows, it makes a /t/ sound and when a vowel follows, it makes an /ss/ sound. 있다/있어

/sh/ sounds are heard when there is a double consonant at the bottom, the second consonant being ㅅ. (없이 /eob-shi/)

"How do you pronounce ㅂ? I'm confusion-"

If I could kill ㅂ, I would. Kidding!

• If ㅂ is in the middle of the word, it makes a /b/ sound.
• If ㅂ is at the beginning of a word, it makes a soft /b/ sound.
• If ㅂ is at the bottom of the word, it makes a soft /p/ or /m/ depending on the vowel or consonant following ㅂ. Or, we could just create a squad to terminate ㅂ.
• If you ever come across a word with ㅂ in it and it doesn't follow the 받침 rules, just yeet it out the window- i mean, just remember that the only time it would sound like a hard /b/ is when it is ㅃ.

-🐻