How to read batchim

A batchim is the consonant that sits at the bottom of a Korean syllable. It is the single biggest reason Korean looks like it should read one way but sounds another. Once the batchim rules click, reading gets much smoother.

Last updated: July 2026

What a batchim is

A Korean syllable is written as a block. It always has a first consonant and a vowel, and it may also have a final consonant underneath. That final consonant is the batchim (받침), which literally means "support." In 강, the ㅇ at the bottom is the batchim. In 닭, the double consonant ㄺ at the bottom is the batchim.

A syllable can have no batchim at all (가, 도, 무), a single batchim (강, 돈, 물), or a double batchim made of two different consonants (닭, 값, 삶). The double kind is called 겹받침.

Why the sound changes

Here is the part that surprises learners. A consonant at the start of a syllable is released with a clear puff of sound, but a consonant at the end is not fully released. Your mouth moves into position for the sound and then stops. Because of that, many different letters end up sounding identical in final position.

Take ㅋ. At the start of a syllable it is an aspirated k. But as a batchim it is not released, so 부엌 does not sound like "bu-eok" with a breathy k. It sounds like [부억], a plain stopped k. The same thing happens to ㅅ: you learned it as s, but 옷 sounds like [옫], ending in a stopped t.

The seven final sounds

No matter which consonant is written, a batchim can only be pronounced as one of seven sounds: ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅇ. Every other consonant collapses into one of these when it lands in final position. For example ㅋ and ㄲ join ㄱ, and ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ, ㅎ all join ㄷ. The full map is laid out in the seven batchim sounds.

This is good news: instead of memorizing a rule for every letter, you only need to know which of seven boxes a letter falls into.

What comes after the batchim

The batchim rule above is what a word sounds like on its own or before a pause. But Korean is spoken in a flow, and the sound of a batchim can shift depending on the next syllable. The most important case is liaison: when the next syllable begins with a vowel, the batchim slides over and starts it. That is why 꽃이 is read [꼬치] rather than [꼳이]. Consonant-to-consonant changes also happen (국물 becomes [궁물]), but liaison is the one to learn first.

How to practice

Reading rules stick faster when you test yourself instead of just reading about them. The batchim practice quiz shows a word and asks what it really sounds like, then explains the rule after every answer. Start with the "Final consonant sounds" mode to lock in the seven sounds, then move to liaison and double batchim.