Double Finals 3

Korean Alphabet 2

Course 2 · Chapter 9 · Double Finals 3

ㄿ ㅀ ㅄ — The Last Three

Three digraphs remain: ㄿ ㅀ ㅄ. After them you will have met all 11 double finals, and this chapter ends with one table that gathers them. Hangul comes first and the romanisation sits behind a click.

Your Three Digraphs — ㄿ ㅀ ㅄ

ㄿ

ㄹ + ㅍ

alone or before a consonant you hear ㅂ (p)

Memory hook: a ㄹ with a ㅍ table beside it.

ㅀ

ㄹ + ㅎ

you hear ㄹ (l); the ㅎ is silent or aspirates what follows

Memory hook: a ㄹ with a ㅎ hat beside it.

ㅄ

ㅂ + ㅅ

you hear ㅂ (p)

Memory hook: a ㅂ bucket with a ㅅ roof beside it.

Which Consonant Do You Hear?

The Chapter 7 rule still applies: when the cluster stands alone, one consonant is not expressed; /h/ goes first, otherwise a coronal consonant goes.

Digraph	Made of	Pronounced alone as	Why
ㄿ	ㄹ + ㅍ	ㅂ (p)	ㄹ is a coronal and drops, leaving the labial ㅍ, heard as ㅂ in final position
ㅀ	ㄹ + ㅎ	ㄹ (l)	/h/ is the one that goes
ㅄ	ㅂ + ㅅ	ㅂ (p)	ㅅ is the coronal and drops

ㅀ and ㅎ. As with ㄶ in Chapter 7, the silent ㅎ leaves a trace: it aspirates a following ㄷ, giving the sound of ㅌ. So 싫다 sounds like 실타.
Before a vowel both consonants are heard, except that ㅎ is silent: 싫어요 sounds like 시러요, while 없어요 sounds like 업써요 (the ㅅ moves across and is tensed).

Example Blocks

Digraph	Blocks
ㄿ	읊
ㅀ	싫	잃
ㅄ	없	값

ㄿ is rare; 읊다 is the one word to know.

Look-Alike Warnings

ㄿ and ㄼ. The second letter is ㅍ (bar on top) in ㄿ and ㅂ in ㄼ.
ㅄ and ㅂ. 없 (ㅂ + ㅅ) is not 업 (ㅂ alone); the two sound alike when alone, so you learn the spelling.
ㅀ and ㄶ. Both end in ㅎ; the first letter (ㄹ or ㄴ) tells them apart.

Read It — Words With ㄿ ㅀ ㅄ

#	Word	English	Check
1	읊다	to recite (a poem)	Show eupda; sounds like 읍따 (eup-tta)
2	싫다	to be disliked; to dislike	Show silh-da; sounds like 실타 (sil-ta)
3	잃다	to lose	Show ilh-da; sounds like 일타 (il-ta)
4	없다	to not exist; to not have	Show eopsda; sounds like 업따 (eop-tta)
5	값	price	Show gapsda; sounds like 갑 (gap) alone
6	없어요	there isn't; I don't have	Show eopseoyo; sounds like 업써요 (eop-sseo-yo)
7	싫어요	I dislike it	Show sirheoyo; sounds like 시러요 (si-reo-yo)

All 11 Double Finals at a Glance

Digraph	Made of	Alone, you hear	Example
ㄳ	ㄱ + ㅅ	ㄱ	몫
ㄵ	ㄴ + ㅈ	ㄴ	앉다
ㄶ	ㄴ + ㅎ	ㄴ	많다
ㄺ	ㄹ + ㄱ	ㄱ	닭
ㄻ	ㄹ + ㅁ	ㅁ	삶
ㄼ	ㄹ + ㅂ	ㄹ (밟다: ㅂ)	여덟
ㄽ	ㄹ + ㅅ	ㄹ	곬
ㄾ	ㄹ + ㅌ	ㄹ	핥다
ㄿ	ㄹ + ㅍ	ㅂ	읊다
ㅀ	ㄹ + ㅎ	ㄹ	싫다
ㅄ	ㅂ + ㅅ	ㅂ	없다

Only seven sounds ever appear at the end of a syllable: /p t k m n ŋ l/. Every double final reduces to one of them.

Not Yet Verified The digraph list, the block rule and the "one consonant is not expressed" rule come from Wikipedia's "Hangul" and "Korean phonology" pages (the same sources as Chapters 7 and 8). The pronunciations of ㄿ (ㅂ), ㅀ (ㄹ) and ㅄ (ㅂ), the words 읊다, 싫다, 잃다, 없다, 값, their meanings and sound-alike respellings, and the claim that ㄿ is rare are from my own knowledge and the general learner pattern, not checked against a dictionary this time. Please check them in a Korean dictionary (for example Naver). The memory hooks are mine.

Sources for This Chapter Wikipedia, "Hangul" and "Korean phonology"; the sources for Chapters 7 and 8.

Try It Yourself — 연습

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Read these blocks aloud: 싫 · 없 · 값 · 잃 · 읊

Show answer

sil · eop · gap · il · eup (as they sound when alone)

2. Which two letters make up each of ㄿ ㅀ ㅄ?

Show answer

ㄿ = ㄹ + ㅍ · ㅀ = ㄹ + ㅎ · ㅄ = ㅂ + ㅅ

3. How does 싫다 sound, and what happens to the ㅎ?

Show answer

Like 실타 (sil-ta). The ㅎ is not pronounced by itself but aspirates the ㄷ, turning it into a ㅌ sound.

4. Write in Hangul: price and I don't have.

Show answer

값 · 없어요

5. Which of the 11 double finals are heard as ㄹ when alone?

Show answer

ㄽ ㄾ ㅀ, and usually ㄼ (with 밟다 as the exception, heard as ㅂ).

6. Sort these into "heard as ㄱ", "heard as ㅂ": 닭 · 몫 · 없다 · 읊다

Show answer

ㄱ: 닭, 몫 · ㅂ: 없다, 읊다

Coming Up in Chapter 10 Sounds That Change: how neighbouring sounds alter each other when you read real words aloud.