Final Consonants (Batchim)

The batchim (받침) is the consonant that appears at the bottom of a syllable block. The word 받침 literally means "support" or "base" — it is the foundation that the syllable rests on. Mastering batchim is essential because it significantly affects pronunciation and is one of the features that makes Korean sound distinctly Korean.

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What is Batchim?

In a CVC syllable block, the final consonant is the batchim:

┌───┬───┐
│ ㅎ │ ㅏ │    ← Initial consonant + Vowel
├───┴───┤
│   ㄴ   │    ← Batchim (final consonant)
└───────┘
= 한 (han)

Not every syllable has a batchim. Syllables like 가 (ga), 나 (na), and 오 (o) have no batchim.

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The Seven Representative Sounds

Here is the critical rule: although 27 different consonant combinations can appear in the batchim position, they are all pronounced as one of only seven sounds:

Representative Sound	Consonants Pronounced This Way	IPA
ㄱ (k)	ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ, ㄳ, ㄺ	[k̚]
ㄴ (n)	ㄴ, ㄵ, ㄶ	[n]
ㄷ (t)	ㄷ, ㅌ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅎ	[t̚]
ㄹ (l)	ㄹ, ㄼ, ㄽ, ㄾ, ㅀ	[l]
ㅁ (m)	ㅁ, ㄻ	[m]
ㅂ (p)	ㅂ, ㅍ, ㄿ, ㅄ	[p̚]
ㅇ (ng)	ㅇ	[ŋ]

Key Insight: The sounds ㄱ, ㄷ, and ㅂ in batchim position are unreleased. This means your mouth goes to the position to make the sound, but you do not release the air. This is very different from English, where final consonants are usually released.

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Unreleased Stops: The Most Important Concept

What "Unreleased" Means

In English, when you say "cap," you release the "p" at the end — your lips open and a small puff of air comes out. In Korean batchim:

• ㄱ (k): Your tongue goes to the "k" position but stays there — no release
• ㄷ (t): Your tongue touches the gum ridge but stays there — no release
• ㅂ (p): Your lips close but stay closed — no release

Practice saying "cap" but stopping with your lips closed. That closed-lip feeling is the Korean ㅂ batchim.

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Batchim Examples by Sound

ㄱ Sound [k̚]

Word	Romanisation	Meaning	Batchim Letter
국	guk	soup/country	ㄱ
부엌	bueok	kitchen	ㅋ
밖	bak	outside	ㄲ

ㄴ Sound [n]

Word	Romanisation	Meaning	Batchim Letter
산	san	mountain	ㄴ
눈	nun	eye/snow	ㄴ
문	mun	door	ㄴ

ㄷ Sound [t̚]

This group has the most members — seven different consonants all become "t":

Word	Romanisation	Meaning	Batchim Letter
곧	got	soon	ㄷ
끝	kkeut	end	ㅌ
옷	ot	clothes	ㅅ
있다	itda	to exist	ㅆ
낮	nat	daytime	ㅈ
꽃	kkot	flower	ㅊ
좋다	jota	to be good	ㅎ

ㄹ Sound [l]