How to read Hangeul - Pronunciation change (Batchim)

 

The pronunciation change for today is called Nasalisation (=비음화, bieumhwa), a key form of consonant assimilation (=자음동화, ja-eum donghwa) in Korean phonology.

It happens when a non-nasal stop consonant in the batchim position is followed by a nasal consonant. The stop consonant changes its pronunciation to its corresponding nasal counterpart to make the transition smoother.  

 

👍 The rule of Nasalisation

The rule follows the concept of 'reverse assimilation,' where the nasal sound in the following syllable influences and changes the sound of the preceding batchim consonant. 

👄 The principle: Matching the place of articulation

The batchim changes into a nasal sound that is produced at the same place of articulation as the original stop consonant.

1) ㄱ (ㄱ, ㄲ, ㅋ, ㄳ, ㄺ) + ㄴ or ㄹ or ㅁ

Both [ㄱ] and [ㅇ] are made at the Velar (soft palate) position, making the transition to the nasal sound seamless. 

Place of articulation: Back of the mouth 

ㄱ ->  [ㅇ]

Example, 국물[궁물], 먹는[멍는]

 

2) ㄷ (ㄷ, ㅌ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅎ) + ㄴ or ㄹ or ㅁ

Both [ㄷ] and [ㄴ] are made at the Alveolar (gums) position. 

Place of articulation: Behind the teeth 

ㄷ -> [ㄴ] 

Example, 닫는[단는], 옛날[옌날] 

 

3) ㅂ (ㅂ, ㅍ, ㄼ, ㅄ)  + ㄴ or ㄹ or ㅁ

Both [ㅂ] and [ㅁ] are made at the Bilabial (two lips) position. 

Place of articulation: Both lips 

ㅂ -> [ㅁ] 

Example, 밥물[밤물], 입니다[임니다]

 

Thank you.

Please practice a lot!

See you next time! 

 

How to read Hangeul - Practice

 

✨ Practice! ✨

Alright! you've learned how to read Hangeul. 

Of course, Korean pronunciation can be a bit tricky with all its changes, so you might not get everything perfectly right away. But don't worry! You've got the basics down, and that's more than enough to start reading Hangeul!

 

✅ So, let's move on and practice reading using everything we've learned so far. 

나무(tree)    바다(sea)    고기(meat)    사과(apple)    우유(milk)

학교(school)    시장(market)    나라(country)    사람(person)    시간(time)

이름(name)    그림(picture)    바람(wind)    구름(cloud)    버섯(mushroom)

도서(book)    영화(movie)    음악(music)    도로(road)    기차(train)

의자(chair)    책상(desk)    창문(window)    문서(document)    전화(phone)   

우산(umbrella)    연필(pencil)    종이(paper)    편지(letter)    가방(bag)

신발(shoes)    모자(hat)    양말(socks)    옷감(fabric)    주먹(fist)

손목(wrist)    얼굴(face)    머리(head)    눈물(tear)    입술(lip)

호수(lake)    강물(river water)    산길(mountain path)    들판(field)    꽃잎(petal)

나비(butterfly)    새벽(dawn)    저녁(evening)    아침(morning)    낮밤(day and night) 

 

✅ Now it's time to tackle the next few questions!

👉 Part 1: Read and pronounce

1. 나무: How do you pronounce this word? 

2. 바다: What does this word mean? 

3. 고기: Is this "meat" or "tree"? 

4. 사과: How many syllables does this word have?

 

👉 Part 2: Match the meaning

a) 학교    b) 시장    c) 나라    d) 사람    e) 시간

1. Market    2. Country    3. School    4. Person    5. Time

 

👉 Part 3: Fill in the blank

1. 나는 (           )에서 공부해요. (school)

2. 오늘 (           )이 없어요. (time)

3. 저 (           )은 한국 사람이에요. (person)

 

👉 Part 4: Identify vowel type

For each word, decide if the main vowel is positive, negative, or neutral.

1. 바다 

2. 구름

3. 이름 

 

👉 Part 5: Which of these words contains a compound vowel?

와요

나무

영화

우유

 

💝 Language is all about practice! And the more you practice, the better you get! 

Keep going, and you'll be amazed at how much progress you make. 💪

Thanks for learning with me today.

Practice makes perfect!

See you next time! 

How to read Hangeul - Batchim

 

Batchim (받침)

In Korean, Batchim refers to the final consonant in a syllable block. It is placed at the bottom of the syllable and affects pronunciation rules.

👉 Examples,

강: Batchim is ㅇ

밥: Batchim is ㅂ 

Batchim is not an essential part, but more than half words have Batchim. Also, Batchim is one of the most important thing. 

👉 Examples: 박, 밖, 반, 밤, 발, 밭, 밥, 방

They are all existing words which have their own meaning.

 

1. Basic Batchim 

There are 7 basic sounds for Batchim, even though there are more letters that can appear in the final position.

1) [k]: ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ → ㄱ

Pronounced as a soft [k] sound

If you can, please remember as [ㄱ]  sound

2) [n]: ㄴ → ㄴ

Clear [n] sound

3) [t]: ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ, ㅎ → ㄷ

All pronounced as [t] sound at the end

If you can, please remember as [ㄷ] sound

4) [l]: ㄹ → ㄹ

Pronounced like [l] in English 

5) [m]: ㅁ → ㅁ

Clear [m] sound 

6) [p]: ㅂ, ㅍ → ㅂ

Pronounced as [p] sound

If you can, please remember as [ㅂ] sound 

7) [ng]: ㅇ → ㅇ

Pronounced as [ng] sound

Send the air to your nose when you say it

 

2. Double Batchim (겹받침)

Some syllables have two Batchim (final consonants) at the bottom.

👉 Example: 읽다, 앉다 

1) ㄱ + ㅅ → ㄳ : 몫

2) ㄴ + ㅈ → ㄵ : 앉다

3) ㄴ + ㅎ → ㄶ : 많다

4) ㄹ + ㄱ → ㄺ : 읽다

5) ㄹ + ㅁ → ㄻ : 삶

6) ㄹ + ㅂ → ㄼ : 짧다

7) ㄹ + ㅅ → ㄽ : 외곬

8) ㄹ + ㅌ → ㄾ : 핥다

9) ㄹ + ㅍ → ㄿ : 읊다 

10) ㄹ + ㅎ→ ㅀ : 싫다

11) ㅂ + ㅅ→ ㅄ : 값

These are important for pronunciation and grammar, and they follow specific rules. 

 

1)  When you can read both sounds, say it all pronunciation. Especially, when followed by a vowel, the second consonant may carry over. 

👉 Example,

앉아서 [안자서]

몫이 [목시] 

읽고 [일꼬]

 

2) Only one consonant is usually pronounced, following the next order.

ㄱ>ㄴ>ㄷ>ㄹ>ㅁ>ㅂ>ㅅ>ㅇ>ㅈ>ㅊ>ㅌ>ㅍ>ㅎ

👉 Example,

앉다 [안따]

값진 [갑찐]

읽지만 [익찌만] 

 

3) Third rule is exceptions to the general pattern. They are especially important for correct pronunciation and spelling in Korean.

3-1) ㄻ: Do not follow rule No. 2. Pronounced as [ㅁ]

👉 삶다 [삼따], 젊다 [점따] 

3-2) ㄼ: It depends on the word. You should check the dictionary whenever you see a new word.

👉 짧다 [짤따], 밟다 [밥따] 

3-3) ㄿ: Do not follow rule No. 2. Pronounced as [ㅂ]

👉 읊다 [읍따]

 

👀 If you remember these three rules, you can read any double Batchim!