Sound Changes (음운 변화)¶

Quick Reference

Major Sound Change Rules in Korean:

Rule	Korean Name	Description	Example
Liaison	연음	Final consonant moves to next syllable	옷이 → [오시]
Nasalization	비음화	Consonants become nasal sounds	국물 → [궁물]
Tensification	경음화	Plain consonants become tense	학교 → [학꾜]
Aspiration	격음화	Consonants become aspirated	좋다 → [조타]
ㅎ Deletion	ㅎ 탈락	ㅎ disappears between vowels	좋아 → [조아]

Detailed Explanation¶

Korean pronunciation follows systematic rules that often differ from how words are written. These sound changes (음운 변화) make Korean sound natural and fluid. Understanding them is crucial for:

Natural pronunciation: Sounding like a native speaker
Listening comprehension: Understanding spoken Korean
Reading fluency: Knowing how to pronounce written text correctly

Why Sound Changes Occur¶

Sound changes happen to make speech easier and more efficient: - Ease of articulation: Reducing effort required to pronounce sounds - Flow: Making transitions between syllables smoother - Efficiency: Eliminating unnecessary movements

1. Liaison (연음 / Resyllabification)¶

Rule: When a syllable ending in a consonant is followed by a syllable starting with ㅇ (silent placeholder), the final consonant moves to the next syllable.

Basic Pattern¶

받침 + ㅇ vowel → 받침 moves to next syllable

Examples¶

Written	Pronounced	Meaning
옷이	[오시]	clothes (subject)
밥을	[바블]	rice (object)
책을	[채글]	book (object)
꽃이	[꼬치]	flower (subject)
없어요	[업서요]	there isn't
좋아요	[조아요]	it's good
많이	[마니]	a lot
읽어요	[일거요]	to read (polite)

With Double Batchim¶

When double batchim meets ㅇ, both consonants may be pronounced across syllables:

Written	Pronounced	Explanation	Meaning
닭이	[달기]	ㄹ stays, ㄱ moves	chicken (subject)
값을	[갑슬]	ㅂ moves, ㅅ → ㄷ → [ㅅ]	price (object)
읽어	[일거]	ㄹ stays, ㄱ moves	to read
없어	[업서]	ㅂ moves, ㅅ moves	to not exist
앉아	[안자]	ㄴ stays, ㅈ moves	to sit

Common Particles Affected¶

Liaison happens frequently with particles:

Particle	Example	Pronunciation
이/가 (subject)	집이	[지비]
을/를 (object)	물을	[무를]
은/는 (topic)	산은	[사는]
에 (location)	집에	[지베]
에서 (at/from)	학교에서	[학교에서]

2. Nasalization (비음화)¶

Rule: When certain consonants are followed by nasal sounds (ㄴ, ㅁ), they become nasal consonants themselves.

Pattern 1: ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ + ㄴ/ㅁ¶

Before Nasal	Becomes	Example	Pronunciation	Meaning
ㄱ + ㄴ/ㅁ	ㅇ + ㄴ/ㅁ	국물	[궁물]	soup
ㄷ + ㄴ/ㅁ	ㄴ + ㄴ/ㅁ	받는다	[반는다]	to receive
ㅂ + ㄴ/ㅁ	ㅁ + ㄴ/ㅁ	밥물	[밤물]	rice water

Detailed Examples¶

ㄱ → ㅇ before ㄴ/ㅁ: - 국물 [궁물] (soup) - 학문 [항문] (learning) - 작년 [장년] (last year)

ㄷ → ㄴ before ㄴ/ㅁ: - 받는다 [반는다] (receives) - 듣는다 [든는다] (listens) - 묻는다 [문는다] (asks)

ㅂ → ㅁ before ㄴ/ㅁ: - 밥물 [밤물] (rice water) - 십년 [심년] (ten years) - 앞문 [암문] (front door)

Pattern 2: ㄴ Addition (ㄴ 첨가)¶

When ㄹ is followed by ㅣ or y-sound, ㄴ is inserted:

Written	Pronounced	Meaning
솔잎	[솔닙]	pine needle
물약	[물냑]	liquid medicine
말이다	[마리다]	it is a horse

Pattern 3: ㄹ Nasalization¶

ㄹ + ㄴ → ㄹㄹ: - 설날 [설랄] → [설날] (New Year's Day) - 물난리 [물날리] (flood)

ㄴ + ㄹ → ㄹㄹ: - 신라 [실라] (Silla Dynasty) - 천리 [철리] (thousand ri)

3. Tensification (경음화 / Fortis)¶

Rule: Plain consonants (ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅈ) become tense (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ) in certain environments.

Pattern 1: After Obstruents¶

When following ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ final consonants:

Written	Pronounced	Meaning
학교	[학꾜]	school
국가	[국까]	nation
책가방	[책까방]	school bag
밥그릇	[밥끄릇]	rice bowl
꽃다발	[꼳따발]	flower bouquet
있다	[읻따]	to exist

Pattern 2: After ㄹ Batchim¶

Written	Pronounced	Meaning
갈비	[갈삐]	ribs
물고기	[물꼬기]	fish
할까	[할까]	shall we?
불고기	[불꼬기]	bulgogi

Pattern 3: In Compound Words¶

Written	Pronounced	Meaning
물건	[물껀]	item/thing
발바닥	[발빠닥]	sole of foot
손가락	[손까락]	finger
눈동자	[눈똥자]	pupil (eye)

Pattern 4: With Sino-Korean Numbers¶

Written	Pronounced	Meaning
일시	[일씨]	date and time
십분	[십뿐]	ten minutes
삼십	[삼십]	thirty
육십	[육씹]	sixty

4. Aspiration (격음화)¶

Rule: When ㅎ combines with ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅈ, they merge into aspirated consonants ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅊ.

Pattern 1: Final ㅎ + Initial ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅈ¶

Combination	Result	Example	Pronunciation	Meaning
ㅎ + ㄱ	ㅋ	좋고	[조코]	good and
ㅎ + ㄷ	ㅌ	놓다	[노타]	to put
ㅎ + ㅈ	ㅊ	좋지	[조치]	isn't it good

Pattern 2: Final ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅈ + Initial ㅎ¶

Combination	Result	Example	Pronunciation	Meaning
ㄱ + ㅎ	ㅋ	백화점	[배콰점]	department store
ㄷ + ㅎ	ㅌ	맏형	[마텅]	eldest brother
ㅂ + ㅎ	ㅍ	입학	[이팍]	entrance (to school)

Common Examples¶

Written	Pronounced	Meaning
좋다	[조타]	to be good
싫다	[실타]	to dislike
많다	[만타]	to be many
놓다	[노타]	to put
쌓다	[싸타]	to pile up
쌓이다	[싸치다]	to be piled
입학	[이팍]	school entrance
축하	[추카]	congratulations

5. ㅎ Deletion (ㅎ 탈락)¶

Rule: ㅎ often disappears between vowels or in certain consonant combinations.

Pattern 1: ㅎ Between Vowels¶

Written	Pronounced	Meaning
좋아	[조아]	it's good
싫어	[시러]	I dislike
많아	[마나]	there are many
놓아	[노아]	put (it)

Pattern 2: ㅎ + ㄴ, ㅁ¶

When ㅎ meets ㄴ or ㅁ, ㅎ is deleted but may nasalize the preceding consonant:

Written	Pronounced	Meaning
좋네요	[존네요]	it's good (exclamation)
많네요	[만네요]	there are many
싫면	[실면]	if you dislike

Pattern 3: ㅎ + ㄹ¶

Written	Pronounced	Meaning
놓려고	[노려고]	intending to put
쌓려고	[싸려고]	intending to pile

Combined Sound Changes¶

Often multiple sound changes happen in sequence:

Example 1: 학교에서 (at school)¶

Written: 학교에서
No change before: [학교에서]
Tensification: 학교 → [학꾜]
Final: [학꾜에서]

Example 2: 없는데 (there isn't but...)¶

Written: 없는데
First consonant: ㅄ → [ㅂ] in final position
Nasalization: ㅂ + ㄴ → [ㅁㄴ]
Final: [엄는데]

Example 3: 좋아요 (it's good)¶

Written: 좋아요
ㅎ deletion: ㅎ disappears between vowels
Liaison: ㅈ moves to next syllable
Final: [조아요]

Example 4: 읽는다 (to read)¶

Written: 읽는다
Double batchim: ㄹㄱ → [ㄱ] in final position
Nasalization: ㄱ + ㄴ → [ㅇㄴ]
Final: [잉는다]

Sound Change Priority¶

When multiple rules could apply, follow this priority:

Liaison (연음) - happens first
Nasalization (비음화) - if nasal sound follows
Tensification (경음화) - if conditions met
Aspiration (격음화) - if ㅎ is involved
ㅎ deletion (ㅎ 탈락) - between vowels

Practice¶

How is 옷이 (clothes - subject) pronounced?
What sound change occurs in 국물 (soup)?
Pronounce 학교 (school) correctly.
What happens to ㅎ in 좋아 (it's good)?
How is 밥을 (rice - object) pronounced?
What is the Korean term for tensification?
Pronounce 많다 (to be many) correctly.
What sound change occurs in 읽어요 (to read - polite)?
How is 없어요 (there isn't) pronounced?
What happens when ㄱ batchim meets ㄴ?

Show Answers

1. [오시] - liaison occurs, ㅅ (from ㅈ→ㄷ→[ㅅ] in pronunciation) moves to next syllable 2. Nasalization (비음화) - ㄱ + ㅁ → [ㅇㅁ], pronounced [궁물] 3. [학꾜] - tensification (경음화), ㄱ + ㄱ → [ㄱㄲ] 4. ㅎ deletion (ㅎ 탈락) - ㅎ disappears between vowels, pronounced [조아] 5. [바블] - liaison (연음), ㅂ moves to next syllable 6. 경음화 (gyeong-eumhwa) 7. [만타] - aspiration (격음화), ㅎ + ㄷ → [ㅌ], pronounced [만타] 8. Liaison - ㄹㄱ double batchim + 어 → [일거요] 9. [업서요] - liaison, ㅂ moves to first syllable, ㅅ moves to second 10. Nasalization - ㄱ becomes ㅇ before ㄴ (ㄱ + ㄴ → [ㅇㄴ])

Summary¶

Understanding sound changes is essential for:

Speaking naturally: Making your Korean sound authentic
Listening comprehension: Recognizing words in natural speech
Reading aloud: Pronouncing written text correctly
Spelling: Understanding why words are spelled certain ways

Key takeaway: Korean is not pronounced exactly as written. Sound changes make the language flow naturally and are systematic and predictable once you learn the rules.

Next Steps¶

Congratulations! You've completed the Hangul section. You now understand:

All consonants (basic, aspirated, and tense)
All vowels (basic and compound)
Final consonants (batchim) and representative sounds
Sound change rules that govern Korean pronunciation

Practice recommendations:

Read Korean text aloud daily
Listen to Korean content and focus on sound changes
Practice minimal pairs to train your ear
Apply sound change rules consciously until they become automatic

Move forward to Basic Grammar to start using your Hangul knowledge to learn Korean!