Korean Final Consonants(Bachim) #1

ㄴ	ㅁ	ㅇ	ㄹ
[n]	[m]	[ng]	[l/r]

💻Let’s speak together!

🎨Principle

Adding the final consonant ‘ㄴ’ to ‘소’ changes it to ‘손,’ and the presence or absence of the final consonant creates a difference in meaning.

소[so](n. Cow)  VS  손[son](n. Hand)

 

🏐Writing Orders

“From left to right, from top to bottom” is the principle of writing. 

Let’s try writing in the air with our index finger while reading the letters.

① 소 ➕ ㄴ = 손(n. Hand)

② 자 ➕ ㅁ = 잠(n. Sleep)

③ 사 ➕ ㅇ = 상(n. Reward)

④ 나 ➕ ㄹ = 날(n. Day)

⑤ 가 ➕ ㄴ = 간(n. Liver)

⑥ 가 ➕ ㅁ = 감(n. Persimmon)

⑦ 가 ➕ ㅇ = 강(n. River)

⑧ 고 ➕ ㄹ = 골(=뼈 n. Bone)

 

💢Be Careful!

Although the Korean “ㄹ” sound is closer to the English L than the R sound, the position of the tongue is very different. In English, the L sound is produced with the tongue moving up from below, whereas in Korean, the tongue just touches the roof of the mouth.

The Korean “ㄹ” pronunciation can generally be divided into two types.

① The first type is when it is pronounced with the tongue from top to bottom, as in words like “라면(Ramen)” and “그림(Paint)”.

When positioned between vowels, its pronunciation is similar to the English [r] sound, as in words like “가르치다(to teach)”, “오리(Duck)”.

② The second type is when it is used as a final consonant, as in words like “알다(To know)”, “글씨(Handwriting)”, and “댓글(Comment)”.

However, when it appears at the end of a syllable or before a consonant, the ‘ㄹ’ sound is similar to the English [l] sound, as in words like ‘실‘ (thread), ‘달‘ (moon), ‘말‘ (horse), and ‘불‘ (fire).