1. Introduction
In Korean, when a consonant is placed at the bottom of a syllable block, it is called a 받침 (batchim) or final consonant.
받침 is very important in Korean because it changes the sound of words and helps create thousands of syllables.
2. What is 받침?
A 받침 is the final consonant sound at the bottom of a block.
Example:
가 (ga) → 각 (gak)
나 (na) → 난 (nan)
바 (ba) → 밥 (bap)
3. Types of 받침
There are 27 받침 sounds in modern Korean, made from the 14 basic consonants.
Single Final Consonants (Simple 받침)
ㄱ (k), ㄴ (n), ㄷ (t), ㄹ (l/r), ㅁ (m), ㅂ (p), ㅇ (ng)
Examples:
각 (gak)
간 (gan)
값 (gap)
강 (gang)
Double Final Consonants (Complex 받침)
ㄲ (kk), ㅆ (ss), ㄳ (ks), ㄵ (nj), ㄶ (nh), ㄺ (lg), ㄻ (lm), ㄼ (lb), ㄽ (ls), ㄾ (lt), ㄿ (lp), ㅀ (lh), ㅄ (ps)
Examples:
닭 (dak)
삶 (salm)
값 (gap)
4. Pronunciation Rules (Basic)
받침 ㅇ → always pronounced as ng (like “song”).
Example: 방 (bang), 공 (gong)받침 ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ → all pronounced as k.
Example: 박 (bak), 밖 (bak)받침 ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ, ㅎ → all pronounced as t.
Example: 옷 (ot), 있다 (itda)받침 ㄹ → pronounced as l.
Example: 달 (dal), 길 (gil)Double 받침 → usually only one sound is pronounced.
Example: 닭 → [dak], 삶 → [salm].
5. Practice Words
밥 (bap) = rice, meal
방 (bang) = room
책 (chaek) = book
달 (dal) = moon
값 (gap) = price
6. Exercises
Write and read: 각, 간, 감, 강, 값.
Practice listening: Compare 밥 (bap) vs 방 (bang).
Try reading simple sentences:
책이 있다. (chaegi itda) = There is a book.
방에 간다. (bange ganda) = I go to the room.
7. Summary
Today, you learned:
What 받침 (final consonants) are.
The types: simple and complex 받침.
Basic pronunciation rules.
Mastering 받침 is key to sounding natural in Korean and understanding how words change.