Korean Liaison: Lessons and Practice

Key Facts

• Liaison happens when a vowel-initial syllable follows a final consonant.
• The letter ㅇ is silent at the start of a block, and the consonant takes its place: 책이 becomes [채기].
• A final ㅇ (the "ng" sound) does not link: 사랑이 stays [사랑이].
• A final ㅎ does not link; it drops: 좋아요 is [조아요].
• Liaison is regular in Standard Korean and is not limited to fast speech.
• The rule is in Articles 13 to 15 of the Standard Pronunciation Rules (표준 발음법).

Last updated: 2026-10-08. The Korean text, romanization and audio scripts in this section are generated drafts that still await review by a Korean specialist.

What Is Korean Liaison?

Korean liaison is the first and most useful sound-change rule in Korean. Korean writes a final consonant (받침, batchim) at the bottom of one block, but speech puts that consonant at the start of the next block whenever the next block begins with a vowel. A block that begins with a vowel is written with a silent ㅇ in front, and the moved consonant takes the place of that ㅇ.

Liaison affects nouns with particles, verb stems with endings, and many other words. The decision table below sends each learner to the right lesson.

Where to Start with Korean Liaison

Start with the basic rule unless you already know it. The table matches each common situation to one lesson.

Liaison builds on batchim pronunciation, so review final consonants first if they are new. The five lessons run in a fixed order, starting with the rule.

What Is the Basic Liaison Rule?

The basic liaison rule moves a final consonant to the empty ㅇ of a following vowel-initial block. The lesson Korean Liaison Rule teaches it in three steps: find the pair, move the consonant, and say the result as one flow.

The lesson uses five words as its core set: 책이, 음악이, 먹어요, 한국어 and 있어요. It also shows how to read a written word as a chain of sounds, how Revised Romanization records the change, and the one case that does not link, a final ㅇ.

How Does Liaison Work with Particles?

Liaison with particles applies the basic rule to the small words that follow a noun. A particle is a short word that marks the role of a noun, such as the subject or object. After a consonant, the subject, object and topic particles are 이, 을 and 은, and all three start with a vowel.

Korean Liaison with Particles teaches 책을, 밥을, 사람은, 집에서 and 학생이에요. It shows the same noun with three particles (밥이 [바비], 밥을 [바블], 밥은 [바븐]) and explains why a noun ending in ㅇ does not link.

What Happens with ㅋ, ㅍ, ㅅ and ㅆ?

Tense and aspirated finals move with their own sound, not with the simplified sound they have at the end of a word. At the end of a word, 부엌 is [부억]. Before a vowel, the ㅋ is back: 부엌이 is [부어키].

Liaison with Tense and Aspirated Batchim teaches 부엌이, 앞에, 옷이, 꽃이, 밖에 and 있어요 with the original consonant restored. The lesson covers the letters ㅋ, ㅍ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅊ, ㅌ and ㄲ.

What about Double Batchim and Compounds?

Double batchim and compounds are the two cases that break the simple pattern. A double batchim is a final made of two consonant letters, such as ㄺ in 닭. A compound is a word built from two words with their own meanings.

Korean Double Batchim Liaison teaches 닭이 [달기], 읽어요 [일거요], 앉아요 [안자요], 값이 [갑씨], 없어요 [업써요] and 많아요 [마나요]. In most of these, the first consonant stays and the second moves.

Liaison with Compound Words contrasts 옷이 [오시], where a particle links, with 옷 안 [오단], where the first word keeps a simpler final sound. The lesson trains the ear to tell the two apart.

Comparing the Korean Liaison Lessons

The table compares the five lessons by what each fixes and the words it teaches.

Each lesson takes about 25 minutes with audio. After the table, the practical question is how to practise.

How Do You Practise Korean Liaison?

Practise by reading five phrases aloud as a thirty-second self-check, then checking the spoken forms in the lessons.

1. Say 책이 있어요 as [채기 이써요].
2. Say 한국어를 배워요 as [한구거를 배워요], noting the link in 한국어를.
3. Say 음악이 좋아요 as [으마기 조아요].
4. Say 집에서 먹어요 as [지베서 머거요].
5. Say 사랑이 있어요, noting that 사랑이 does not link.

For the sound changes that come next, see the section on Korean pronunciation rules. To see how romanization records liaison, read about Korean romanization.

Study Order at a Glance

Follow the lessons in this order: Liaison Rule, Liaison with Particles, Tense and Aspirated Batchim, Double Batchim, then Compound Words. The first two lessons cover the most common cases and can be learned in one sitting. The last three add the special cases and fit well in a second session.

Audio, Review Status and Scope

This section covers liaison in Standard Korean only. It does not cover other sound changes, such as nasalization, which has its own section. All Korean text, romanization and audio are generated drafts that still await review by a Korean specialist, and the audio shows one standard Seoul pronunciation.

Related Sections

Liaison starts from the final consonants taught in batchim pronunciation, and it is one of eight rules in the Korean pronunciation rules section.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is liaison in Korean? Liaison (연음) is the rule that a final consonant moves to the start of the next syllable when that syllable begins with a vowel. So 책이 is spoken [채기] and 먹어요 is [머거요]. The spelling does not change. Textbooks also call it linking or resyllabification, and it is regular in Standard Korean.

Does liaison happen with ㅇ? Not with a final ㅇ. The ㅇ at the bottom of a block is the "ng" sound, and it stays where it is, so 사랑이 is spoken [사랑이]. The ㅇ at the start of a block is silent and receives the moved consonant, which is why 책이 becomes [채기].

Why is 한국어 pronounced 한구거? The final ㄱ of 국 moves to the empty ㅇ of 어, so the blocks 한 / 국 / 어 are spoken as 한 / 구 / 거. Revised Romanization writes hangugeo, which shows the same link. The spelling 한국어 never changes, because liaison happens only in speech.

Is liaison optional? No. Liaison is part of Standard Korean pronunciation and applies in careful speech as well as fast speech, with a few special cases such as compounds. A speaker who pauses after the consonant, as in 책... 이, sounds like a learner. Native speakers apply the rule without noticing it.