Batchim Basics
받침 Batchim. Learn how final consonants change Korean syllable sounds.
Core pronunciation model
Beginner view. switch depending on how much detail you want.
Three consonant families
Korean stop sounds come in plain, airy, and tight versions. Do not collapse them into one English sound.
Read by blocks
Treat each square Hangul block as one beat of sound, not as separate letters in a row.
Batchim changes sound
A final consonant often sounds different from the same letter at the start of a syllable.
Use audio over spelling
Romanization helps at first, but your ears should become the final authority.
Batchim means the consonant at the bottom of a syllable block. Beginners usually meet a letter first at the start of a block, then hear it change at the end.
The Korean word is 받침, romanized here as batchim and pronounced roughly like bat-chim. It means a support or prop, because this consonant sits under the rest of the syllable block.
Pronunciation note: the final consonant in 받 does not sound like a strong English d. It ends as a short final stop, so learners often hear the whole word more like bat-chim than bad-chim.
Start with three rules: final stops are short, final ㅇ is ng, and final ㄹ sounds like l. You do not need every sound-change rule on day one.
How to think about it
Top vs bottom
The same consonant can behave one way at the start of a block and another way at the bottom. Batchim means "bottom position".
Short ending sound
Many batchim sounds end quickly. Do not force a big extra vowel after them.
Learn a few patterns first
Skip the exceptions at first. Start with final ng, final l, and short stop endings.
First rules to remember
Stop finals
ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ-family finals end short and unreleased. Do not add a big vowel after them.
ㅇ final
At the bottom of a block, ㅇ sounds like ng.
ㄹ final
At the bottom of a block, ㄹ is an l-sound.
The 7 final sounds
Many consonants can sit at the bottom of a block. At the end of a word, they simplify into 7 basic sounds.
| Ending Letter | Final Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ | k (stop) | 책: book |
| ㄴ | n | 눈: eye |
| ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ, ㅎ | t (stop) | 옷: clothes |
| ㄹ | l | 달: moon |
| ㅁ | m | 몸: body |
| ㅂ, ㅍ | p (stop) | 입: mouth |
| ㅇ | ng | 강: river |
Liaison: moving the sound (연음)
Use this rule early. It changes how common words sound.
When a block has a final consonant and the next block starts with the hollow circle ㅇ, the consonant jumps up to fill that empty spot.
Written
bap-i
Spoken
ba-bi
ㅇ is a silent placeholder. Korean prefers the sound to flow smoothly into the next vowel rather than stopping and starting again.
Worked examples
ㄱ at the bottom is a final stop: short and unreleased.
ㅂ at the bottom sounds like a final p-stop, not an English b.
ㄹ at the bottom sounds like an l.
ㅇ at the bottom is ng.