Why the spelling and the sound differ

Korean writes how a word is built, not how it is said. Learn the three changes that automatic romanizers get wrong, so a word you can spell is a word you can say.

≈ 4 min of reading · Practise at your own pace

What’s in this chapter

Korean spelling writes how a word is built, not how it is said. Every respelling here follows the sound.
Only seven sounds ever close a syllable, and a consonant right after a closed syllable comes out tense: 있다it-tta“there is”.
Rule one: a closing consonant slides into a following square that starts with the silent ㅇ.
Rule two: before ㄴ or ㅁ, a closing k, t, p becomes ng, n, m.
Rule three: ㅎ fades between vowels and burns into a neighbouring consonant.
The tense kk / tt / pp and the vowel ㅓeo need your mouth, not a respelling — instructions below.

Korean spelling is conservative: it writes the word the way it is built, not the way it comes out of a mouth. Three rules cover nearly all of the difference, and every automatic romanizer gets them wrong.

Only seven sounds can close a square

The closing sound is the letter written underneath a square. Only seven sounds ever come out of that slot.

숲

숲sup“forest”

the puffed ㅍ comes out as a plain p. The seven: k, n, t, l, m, p, ng — whatever letter is written on the floor. And a consonant right after a closed syllable goes tense and hard: 있다it-tta“there is”. You will see that -tta constantly in the respellings; the Korean spelling does not show it

Rule one: the bottom letter slides right

This is the change automatic romanizers miss most often. Compare the spelling on the left with the sound beside it.

물이

물이mu-ri“the water”

the next square starts with the silent ㅇ, so it has no consonant of its own — the ㄹ slides into the empty seat

집에

집에ji-be“in the house”

Korean glues words to their endings constantly, so this fires in nearly every sentence — it is what makes letter-by-letter romanizers useless

Rule two: k becomes ng, t becomes n, p becomes m

A closing k, t or p changes when an n or m sound follows it. Read each pair aloud to hear the swap.

먹는다

먹는다meong-neun-da“eats”

ㄴ and ㅁ send air through the nose, and a stopped consonant in front of them turns nasal to match

옛날

옛날yen-nal“the old days”

the first word of every Korean fairy tale

감사합니다

감사합니다gam-sa-ham-ni-da“thank you”

the formal 합니다체ham-ni-da-che style — named once, then set aside

Rule three: ㅎ fades, or sets fire to its neighbour

The h sound is weak. Between vowels it disappears; against a consonant it adds a puff of air.

좋다

좋다jo-ta“is good”

h plus d makes one puffed t

미안해요

미안해요mi-a-nae-yo“sorry”

between vowels the ㅎ evaporates — and the n slides across, rule one at the same time

Say it, do not spell it

Work out how each is said before revealing. The words you already know.

숲에
Rule one: the letter underneath 숲 has an empty seat waiting.
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숲에su-pe“to the forest”. Not “sup-e”.
집이
Rule one again.
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집이ji-bi“the house”
옛날
Rule two: a t cannot stand in front of an n.
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옛날yen-nal“the old days”. Nobody says “yet-nal”.

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