문자A1

Syllable Structure

How Hangul letters combine into syllable blocks (CV, CVC, CVCC) and 받침 rules

Learning Goal

Can read and write Hangul syllable blocks and understand 받침 pronunciation rules

Exam Skills:쓰기읽기

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

한국어를 배워요.

I'm learning Korean.

밥을 먹어요.

I eat rice.

옷이 예뻐요.

The clothes are pretty.

강이 넓어요.

The river is wide.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

음절 구조 — Syllable Block Structure

Unlike alphabets where letters sit in a line, Hangul groups letters into syllable blocks. Each block is one syllable and contains 2-4 letters arranged in a square.

Three block patterns:

Pattern	Structure	Example
CV	initial + vowel	나 (na) = I/me
CVC	initial + vowel + final	한 (han) = one/Korean
CVCC	initial + vowel + double final	읽 (ilk) = read (stem)

Layout rules:

Vertical vowels (ㅏ,ㅑ,ㅓ,ㅕ,ㅣ) go to the right of the initial consonant: 가, 나, 디
Horizontal vowels (ㅗ,ㅛ,ㅜ,ㅠ,ㅡ) go below the initial consonant: 고, 누, 두
If there's a 받침, it goes at the bottom: 간, 굴, 닭

받침 (Batchim) — Final Consonants:

Only 7 sounds are possible in final position, regardless of which consonant is written:

Sound	Written as	Example
[k]	ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ	국 (guk) = soup
[n]	ㄴ	산 (san) = mountain
[t]	ㄷ, ㅌ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅎ	옷 (ot) = clothes
[l]	ㄹ	달 (dal) = moon
[m]	ㅁ	밤 (bam) = night
[p]	ㅂ, ㅍ	밥 (bap) = rice
[ng]	ㅇ	강 (gang) = river

Linking rule (연음): When a syllable ending in a consonant is followed by a syllable starting with ㅇ, the final consonant moves to become the initial of the next syllable: 한국어 → [한구거] (hangugeo).

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Learners try to pronounce every consonant letter in 받침 position, but Korean neutralizes them to only 7 possible sounds. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English allows complex consonant clusters (e.g., 'strengths'), so speakers try to pronounce written double 받침 fully. Also struggle with the linking rule (연음). 🇩🇪 German speakers: German also has final devoicing (Hund → [hunt]), which is similar. But German allows more final clusters, so double 받침 simplification is new.

한국어를 배워요.

I'm learning Korean.

한 (han) = CVC block: ㅎ+ㅏ+ㄴ. 국 (guk) = CVC: ㄱ+ㅜ+ㄱ. 어 (eo) = CV: ㅇ(silent)+ㅓ. The linking rule applies: 한국어 → [한구거].

밥을 먹어요.

I eat rice.

밥 (bap): final ㅂ is pronounced [p]. With linking: 밥을 → [바블] — the ㅂ moves to the next syllable.

옷이 예뻐요.

The clothes are pretty.

옷 (ot): ㅅ in 받침 position is pronounced [t], not [s]. With 이: 옷이 → [오시] — the ㅅ links and recovers its [s] sound.

강이 넓어요.

The river is wide.

강 (gang): final ㅇ in 받침 sounds like 'ng'. This is the only time ㅇ makes a sound — at the start of a syllable it is silent.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

Syllable Structure

음절 구조 — Syllable Block Structure

Common Error Patterns

Put it into practice

Frequently asked questions