Section 04 · 음운 변화
Sound changes
Why letters don't always sound the way they're written.
Hangul is phonetic, but Korean isn't always pronounced the way it's written. A few patterns cover most of what you'll hear.
Linking (연음)
When a word ends in a batchim and the next syllable begins with ㅇ (the silent placeholder), the batchim slides over and takes its place:
- 한국어 → "han-gug-eo" → sounds like han-gu-geo
- 먹어요 → "meog-eo-yo" → sounds like meo-geo-yo
The ㄱ at the bottom of 먹 jumps forward to fill the empty ㅇ. You'll stop hearing it as a rule and start hearing it as the natural thing.
Tensing (경음화)
After a hard stop (p, t, k sounds), the next consonant often doubles:
- 학교 (school) → sounds like hak-kkyo
- 입구 (entrance) → sounds like ip-kku
That's the reading side covered. The next pages zoom out: how numbers work, the little glue words that mark who does what, and the speech levels you'll hear shifting in every K-drama.