Final Consonants
You've learned the basic syllables that consist of "consonant-vowel". Now, you'll learn the concept that is called the final consonant. But don't worry! They are not any new words. You'll use the letters you learned before.
Final consonant?
So, far you learned the syllables like "가, 나, 다." They consist of one consonant and one vowel. However, some syllables have one more consonant. Those syllables consist of "consonant-vowel-consonant." The consonants that come at the end are called the final consonants. This final consonant is located under the basic syllable!
For example, look at the words "파" and "팔". They look similar but very different! We read "파" as [pa] and it means green onions. We read 팔 as [pal] and it means arms or eight. Like this, the final consonants add the sounds and make whole new words. It is also an important concept in the grammar lessons.
The good news is you don't have to learn the new letters. You'll use the consonant you studied before. One or two basic consonants can come at this "final consonant" position, but only the seven sounds can be pronounced. Those are ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅇ. You will get to learn one by one!
Final Consonants 1: One Letter - One Sound
Some final consonants keep their original sounds. While some letters change the sounds to something else. Let's learn the easier ones that only have one sound first. Those are ㄴ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅇ.
1. ㄴ(n)
도 [do]
사 [sa]
돈 [don]
산 [san]
Just like its first consonant sound "ㄴ", you can add "n" at the end of a syllable. One thing you have to watch out for is that you have to pronounce them as one not two separate syllables. Compare the sounds 도 and 돈. Can you hear the differences? 도 sounds [do]. 돈 sounds [don]. They are not difficult to compare, right?
2. ㄹ(l)
도 [do]
사 [sa]
돌 [dol]
살 [sal]
ㄹ has the same "l" sound just like its first consonant sound. When 도(do) had the "ㄴ" made it 돈(don). Now, when it meets the "ㄹ," it becomes 돌(dol). When 사(sa) had ㄴ, 산 pronounced as [san]. Now, when it meets ㄹ, you have to read 살 as [sal]. As you see, the final consonant changes the sounds of the syllables!
3. ㅁ(m)
고 [go]
사 [sa]
곰 [gom]
삼 [sam]
고 becomes 곰 with the final consonant ㅁ. You'll read it as [gom]. By adding this final consonant ㅁ to 사 now you can say 삼 [sam]. Well, don't read it as the English name Sam. You know, the vowel ㅏ is [ah]. So, it can be also Romanized as [sahm]. Have you ever heard the Korean family name "Kim"? It is actually 김 in Korean! So the pronunciation is [gim] not [kim].
4. ㅇ(ng)
고 [go]
공 [gong]
으 [eu]
응 [eung]
When ㅇ comes to the first consonant position, it doesn't have any sounds. It is just a letter that fills up to write the vowels. However, when it comes to the final consonant position, it finally has the sound! It adds a "ng" sound like "run-running."
If you look at 으, it just has the vowel ㅡ's sound. Now, by adding ㅇ at the end as well, you can read 응 as [eung].
Final Consonant Video 1
Let's review the final consonants!
Final Consonants 2: different letters - one sound
Some consonants change their sounds when they are used in the final consonant spots. That is why even though we have 14 basic consonants and 5 double consonants, there are only 7 sounds that can be pronounced as the final consonants. It can be confusing, so please take a look at them carefully.
1. ㄱ(g), ㅋ(k), ㄲ(gg) → ㄱ(g)
가 [ga]
갘 [gak]
각 [gak]
갂 [gak]
Compare the sound of 가 and 각. When you say 각, the "g" sound is added to 가. Can you hear the differences?
Now, let's compare 각, 갘, and 갂. Listen carefully. If you think they all sound the same, then you listened well. The letters ㅋ(k) and ㄲ(gg) came from ㄱ(g). That is why when they come to the final consonant position, they all become ㄱ. So, even though their writings are different, they are all pronounced the same!
Then, why did I Romanize the pronunciation with "k" not "g"? It's not just me. Traditionally, these ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ Romanized as "k". I believe it happened to make them more understandable to English users. 각 with "gak" is easier to understand than "gag". So, even though they were supposed to be pronounced with a "g" sound, they were written as "k".
2. ㅂ(b), ㅍ(p) → ㅂ(b)
바 [ba]
밮 [bap]
밥 [bap]
Now, let's compare 바 and 밥. We add the "b" sound at the end when we have the final consonant. Listen carefully and repeat after them.
The consonant ㅍ(p) becomes ㅂ(b) when it comes to the final consonant position. It's because ㅍ came from the ㅂ. If you read the two letters aloud, you can tell they are related. ㅍ will be pronounced with the same tongue position. It just pushes more air out than ㅂ.
Again, even though you are supposed to read with "b," it is usually Romanized with "p". But don't let that Romanization fool you! Even though it is written with "p" make sure to read with the "b" sound.
3. ㄷ(d), ㅌ(t), ㅅ(s), ㅆ(ss), ㅈ(j), ㅊ(ch), ㅎ(h)→ ㄷ(d)
오 [o]
옷 [ot]
옽 [ot]
옻 [ot]
All other consonants than above change to ㄷ(d). 옷, 옽, and 옻 all have different letters in their final consonant places, but you can see they are all pronounced as ㄷ(d). Watch out to say them as one /옫od/, not separate 오(oh) and 드(deu). Try to listen and repeat the words above.
The ㄷ(d) can be Romanized as t as well. ㅌ came from ㄷ, and it is easier to understand in this way. Even though you see Romanization versions like that throughout my website or other places, just to know they are supposed to be "d" sounds not actually "t."
Final Consonant Video 2
Please watch the multiple letters - one sound final consonant video. Try to listen and repeat. If you speak out loud will help you to learn better than just listen to it.
Final Consonants with two letters
덜 [deol]
삭 [sak]
덟 [deol]
삵 [sak]
Some words have two consonants in the final consonant position. Look at the example above, 덟 and 삵. They look complicated, right? When there are two final consonants, only one consonant will be pronounced.
For 덟, the front one "ㄹ(l)" is a letter that will be pronounced. So, you will say 덜 and 덟 the same. For 삵, the second letter "ㄱ(g)" survives. So, 삵 and 삭 have the same pronunciation.
The good news is, it is not random. There are rules to which one to pronounce! If you want to learn more about two-letter final consonants, please check out this post; Double Final Consonants.
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