Korean Double Batchim ㄻ: Sounds, Rules and Examples

The Korean double batchim ㄻ is the pair ㄹ + ㅁ at the bottom of a syllable, as in 삶 (life) and 젊다 (to be young). It keeps the right letter: alone or before a consonant it is said [ㅁ], so 삶 is [삼]. Before a vowel, both letters are heard: 젊어요 is [절머요] and 삶이 is [살미].

What you'll learn

• Say 삶 [삼] and 젊다 [점따] with a single [ㅁ].
• Pronounce both letters in 삶이 [살미], 젊어요 [절머요] and 닮아요 [달마요].
• Apply tensification after ㄻ verb stems: 닮고 [담꼬], 젊지 [점찌].
• Explain why 옮기다 is [옴기다], with no tense sound.

Prerequisites: Double Batchim Rules, where ㄻ appears as one of the three right-letter pairs. Estimated time: 25 minutes.

What Is the Korean Double Batchim ㄻ?

The Korean double batchim ㄻ is a final consonant cluster made of ㄹ (rieul) on the left and ㅁ (mieum) on the right. Korean grammars call it 리을미음 받침. Like every double batchim, it is heard in full only before a vowel; in all other positions one letter goes silent.

ㄻ belongs to the "odd three", the pairs ㄺ, ㄻ and ㄿ that keep the right letter instead of the left. In the general double batchim rules, most pairs keep the left letter, so ㄻ is worth learning as a named exception: 삶 is [삼], never [살].

The forms on this page follow the Standard Pronunciation Rules (표준 발음법) of the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원). Article 11 gives 삶 [삼] and 젊다 [점따], Article 14 covers vowels, and Article 24 covers the tense consonant after ㄻ verb stems.

The rule is short, but English habits make it harder than it looks, as the next section explains.

Why English Speakers Struggle with ㄻ

English speakers struggle with ㄻ because English pronounces "lm" in full in words such as "film" and "elm". Reading 삶 as "salm" feels natural, but Korean allows only one final consonant sound, so the result sounds like two syllables to a Korean listener.

A second problem is the left-letter habit. Learners who have practised 값 [갑] and 여덟 [여덜] often keep the left letter of every pair and say 삶 as [살]. That changes the word: [살] is the pronunciation of 살 (flesh, or years of age).

A third problem is invisible in spelling. After a ㄻ verb stem, the next consonant becomes tense: 젊다 is [점따], not [점다]. English has no rule like this after m, so learners rarely hear it until it is pointed out. The next three sections take these problems one at a time.

How Is ㄻ Pronounced at the End of a Word?

At the end of a word, ㄻ is pronounced [ㅁ]: close the lips and let the sound continue through the nose. The ㄹ is completely silent. Because [ㅁ] is a nasal, it can be held, so a final ㄻ sounds full and clear rather than clipped like [ㄱ] or [ㅂ].

These homophones are a good listening test. 삶 and 삼 are identical when said alone. 상 (table, prize) is different because it ends in [ㅇ], with the back of the tongue raised and the lips open. Practise the set 삶, 삼, 상 until you can feel the lips close for the first two and stay open for the third.

Nouns ending in ㄻ are rare; 삶 and 앎 are the main ones. Most ㄻ words are verbs and adjectives, and in those the same [ㅁ] appears before a consonant ending: 젊다 [점따], 닮지 [담찌], 굶고 [굼꼬]. What changes with each ending is the sound after the [ㅁ], which is where the next section goes.

Why Is 젊다 Tensified?

젊다 is tensified because Article 24 of the Standard Pronunciation Rules says that when a verb or adjective stem ends in ㄴ (or ㄵ) or ㅁ (or ㄻ), a following ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅅ or ㅈ in the ending becomes tense. So 젊다 is [점따], 젊고 is [점꼬], 젊지 is [점찌] and 젊습니다 is [점씀니다].

The 네 column shows the limit: ㄴ cannot become tense, so 젊네 is just [점네]. The rule is a general one, explained in full in Korean tensification, and it also covers single ㅁ stems such as 감다 (to wash hair) [감따].

Why Is 옮기다 Not Tensified?

옮기다 (to move something) is pronounced [옴기다], with a plain ㄱ, because Article 24 excludes the passive and causative suffix 기. This 기 is not an ending; it builds a new verb from 옮다. The same exception covers 굶기다 (to starve someone) [굼기다] and 감기다 (to be wound) [감기다].

Nouns with ㄻ Stay Plain

Nouns with ㄻ do not trigger tensification. Article 24 applies only to verb and adjective stems, so a particle after the noun 삶 stays plain: 삶도 (life, too) is [삼도] and 삶과 (with life) is [삼과]. Compare the verb 삶다 (to boil) [삼따], which is tense. Same spelling, different word class, different result.

With tensification sorted, the remaining question is what happens when the ending starts with a vowel.

How Is ㄻ Pronounced before a Vowel?

Before a vowel ending or particle, ㄻ is pronounced with both letters: ㄹ stays at the end of the first syllable and ㅁ moves to the start of the next. Article 14 of the Standard Pronunciation Rules describes this movement, called liaison (연음).

The ㄹ here is a light "l", made with the tongue tip touching the ridge behind the upper teeth, and the ㅁ that follows is a full, voiced m. A good check is that [절머요] has three clear syllables: jeol-meo-yo. In 삶의, the particle 의 is usually said [에] in everyday speech, which the standard allows. More pairs are drilled in the lesson on double batchim before a vowel.

Which Words Use ㄻ?

The ㄻ words a learner needs are mostly verbs and adjectives, plus two nouns. The table lists them in rough order of usefulness at beginner and lower-intermediate level.

Two of these verbs have their own dictionary pages with every form: see the jeomda conjugation for 젊다 and resemble in Korean for 닮다. Note that 옮겨요 keeps [ㅁ] because 기 + 어요 contracts to 겨요, and the vowel then follows ㄱ, not ㄻ.

ㄻ Compared with ㄺ and ㄼ

ㄻ is easiest to remember next to the two ㄹ-pairs you meet most often, ㄺ and ㄼ. All three start with ㄹ, and all three bring both letters back before a vowel, but they differ in which letter survives before a consonant and in their exceptions.

The comparison shows why ㄻ is the simplest of the three. It has no exception, and its kept sound, [ㅁ], is a nasal that never changes before ㄴ or ㅁ. Once you can say 삶 [삼] and 삶이 [살미], and you add tensification after verb stems, you can say every common ㄻ form.

Worked Example: 삶 and 삶다

삶 (life) and 삶다 (to boil) share a spelling, so they show every setting of ㄻ in one family. Follow four forms.

1. 삶 alone. Nothing follows, so one letter is said. ㄻ keeps the right letter. Say [삼].
2. 삶이 (life, subject). The particle 이 starts with a vowel. Keep ㄹ, move ㅁ. Say [살미].
3. 삶다 (to boil). A consonant ending follows a verb stem. Say [ㅁ] and make ㄷ tense. Say [삼따].
4. 삶은 달걀 (boiled egg). The ending 은 starts with a vowel. Keep ㄹ, move ㅁ: [살믄]. The next word, 달걀, starts normally. Say [살믄 달걀].

Now apply the same four questions to 젊다. 젊은 사람 (a young person) is [절믄 사람]: the vowel ending brings back the ㄹ, and the ㅁ moves.

You'll know you have it when 삶 and 삼 sound identical, 삶이 has a clear l before the m, and 삶다 ends with a tight [따].

Common Mistakes with ㄻ

Mistake 1: keeping the left letter. Learners often assume ㄻ follows the left-letter default and say 삶 as [살]. Actually ㄻ keeps the right letter: [삼]. Fix: remember the odd three, ㄺ ㄻ ㄿ, together with the earlier lesson on ㄺ.

Mistake 2: saying both letters before a consonant. Learners often say 젊다 as "jeolm-da". Actually only [ㅁ] is said: [점따].

Mistake 3: missing the tense consonant. Learners often say 젊다 as [점다] and 닮고 as [담고]. Actually Article 24 makes the ending tense: [점따], [담꼬].

Mistake 4: tensing a suffix or a particle. Learners who have just learned Mistake 3 sometimes say 옮기다 as [옴끼다] or 삶도 as [삼또]. Actually the causative suffix 기 and noun particles stay plain: [옴기다], [삼도].

Mistake 5: losing the ㄹ before a vowel. Learners often say 젊어요 as [저머요]. Actually both letters are heard: [절머요]. Without the ㄹ, the form is not a Korean word at all.

Practice: Korean Double Batchim ㄻ

Exercise 1. Write the spoken form.

1. 앎
2. 굶다
3. 닮지
4. 젊네

Exercise 2. Write the spoken form. Both letters, or one?

1. 삶을
2. 젊은
3. 굶고
4. 닮았어요

Exercise 3. Tense or plain? Write the spoken form.

1. 삶과
2. 삶고
3. 굶기다

Answers.

Exercise 1: 1 [암], 2 [굼따], 3 [담찌], 4 [점네].

Exercise 2: 1 both, [살믈]. 2 both, [절믄]. 3 one, [굼꼬]. 4 both, [달마써요].

Exercise 3: 1 plain, because 삶 is a noun: [삼과]. 2 tense, because 삶- is a verb stem: [삼꼬]. 3 plain, because 기 is a causative suffix: [굼기다].

If Exercise 3 was difficult, reread the two short sections on 옮기다 and on nouns, then try again.

Where to Go Next

The next lesson, Korean double batchim ㄼ, returns to a left-letter pair, as in 여덟 [여덜] and 넓다 [널따], and introduces the famous exception 밟다 [밥따]. All pair lessons are listed in Double Batchim.

This lesson does not mark vowel length. The Standard Pronunciation Rules list a long vowel in 삶 [삼ː] and 젊다 [점ː따], but most younger Seoul speakers no longer make length distinctions, so the audio uses normal length.

In short, the Korean double batchim ㄻ is said [ㅁ] alone and before consonants, with a tense consonant after verb stems, and with both letters before a vowel.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I say 삶? Say [삼], exactly like 삼 (three). 삶 ends in ㄻ, a right-letter pair, so the ㄹ is silent and only [ㅁ] is said: close your lips and let the sound continue through the nose. Before a vowel particle the ㄹ comes back: 삶이 [살미], 삶을 [살믈].

Is 젊다 [점따]? Yes. 젊다 (to be young) is pronounced [점따]. ㄻ is said [ㅁ], and Article 24 of the Standard Pronunciation Rules makes the ㄷ of the ending tense after a verb or adjective stem ending in ㄻ. The same applies to 젊고 [점꼬] and 젊지 [점찌], but not to vowel endings such as 젊어요 [절머요].

Why does ㄻ sound like ㅁ? ㄻ sounds like [ㅁ] because Korean allows only one consonant sound at the end of a syllable, and ㄻ is one of the three pairs (with ㄺ and ㄿ) that keep the right letter. The ㄹ is still written because it is heard whenever a vowel follows, as in 삶이 [살미] or 닮아요 [달마요].

How are ㄻ words conjugated? ㄻ verbs and adjectives are regular. With a consonant ending you say [ㅁ] and make the next sound tense: 닮다 [담따], 닮고 [담꼬]. With a vowel ending you say both letters: 닮아요 [달마요], 젊은 [절믄]. Before ㄴ you say [ㅁ] with no change: 젊네 [점네]. Spelling never changes.

Is the ㄹ in 삶 ever pronounced on its own? No, the ㄹ of ㄻ is never pronounced on its own at the end of a syllable. It is heard only when a vowel follows and the ㅁ moves to the next syllable, as in 삶이 [살미]. If you hear [살] for 삶 alone, the speaker has dropped the wrong letter.