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: