Korean ㄹ Nasalization: Sounds, Rules and Examples

What you will learn

• Say 심리, 종로, 정리, 독립 and 협력 with ㄴ in place of ㄹ.
• Follow the two-step chain that gives 독립 [동닙] and 협력 [혐녁].
• Explain why the change appears mostly in Sino-Korean words.
• Tell ㄹ nasalization apart from liquidization, as in 신라 [실라].

Before you start: you know how ㄱ, ㄷ and ㅂ become ㅇ, ㄴ and ㅁ before ㄴ or ㅁ, from Korean Nasalization Rules. Time: about 25 minutes with audio.

Key Facts

• After ㅁ or ㅇ, a following ㄹ is pronounced ㄴ: 심리 is [심니] and 종로 is [종노].
• After ㄱ or ㅂ, ㄹ also becomes ㄴ, and then the ㄱ or ㅂ turns nasal: 독립 is [동닙] and 협력 is [혐녁].
• The change is set out in Article 19 of the Standard Pronunciation Rules (표준 발음법).
• Most affected words are Sino-Korean, built from hanja syllables such as 리, 로, 력 and 립.
• After ㄴ the result is different: ㄴ + ㄹ usually becomes [ㄹㄹ] (신라 [실라]), which is liquidization.
• Official romanized names show the result: 종로 is Jongno and 강릉 is Gangneung.

Last updated: 2026-10-09. The Korean text, romanization and audio scripts on this page are generated drafts that still await review by a Korean specialist.

What Is Korean ㄹ Nasalization?

Korean ㄹ nasalization is a sound change in which the liquid ㄹ becomes the nasal ㄴ. A liquid is a smooth consonant such as l or r, and ㄹ is the only one in Korean. A nasal is a consonant that sends air through the nose, such as ㄴ, ㅁ and ㅇ. Both ㄹ and ㄴ are made with the tongue tip on the ridge behind the upper teeth, so the change keeps the place and only adds the nose.

The change happens because Korean speech does not allow ㄹ at the start of a syllable when certain consonants end the syllable before it. The ㄹ adjusts to its neighbour. The nasalization rules taught earlier change the first consonant; this rule changes the second one.

Revised Romanization (RR) follows the spoken form, so 종로 is Jongno in names such as Jongno-gu (the district) and Jongno 3-ga Station. RR is a learning aid on this page; the Hangul and the bracketed forms are the reference. English speakers find this rule hard for a reason worth naming.

Why English Speakers Say "Jong-Ro"

English speakers say "Jong-ro" because English allows n + r and m + r freely, as in "Henry" and "Camry". The letter ㄹ is visible in the spelling, so learners pronounce it, usually as an r. Korean listeners hear this as reading letter by letter.

The fix starts with noticing that the official English spellings already contain the answer. Jongno, Gangneung (강릉) and Dongnimmun (독립문) are all spelled with n, not r or l. Every time you see a Korean place name romanized with n where the Hangul has ㄹ, ㄹ nasalization is at work.

The rule has two branches, depending on which consonant comes before ㄹ. The simpler branch comes first.

When Does ㄹ Become ㄴ?

ㄹ becomes ㄴ whenever it follows a final ㅁ or ㅇ. Article 19 of the Standard Pronunciation Rules (표준 발음법), published by the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원), states this case with examples such as 담력 [담녁], 침략 [침냑], 강릉 [강능], 항로 [항노] and 대통령 [대통녕].

In these words the first consonant is already a nasal, so nothing else changes. The second branch involves stop consonants, and there the change spreads to both sides.

What Happens after ㄱ and ㅂ?

After ㄱ or ㅂ, ㄹ still becomes ㄴ, and then the new ㄴ makes the ㄱ or ㅂ nasal too. Two rules apply in a row. The note (붙임) to Article 19 shows both steps for words such as 막론 [막논 → 망논] and 협력 [협녁 → 혐녁].

Follow the chain in 독립 (independence):

1. Start with the spelling: 독 + 립.
2. Change ㄹ to ㄴ after the stop ㄱ: [독닙].
3. Nasalize the ㄱ before the new ㄴ: ㄱ → ㅇ, giving [동닙].

Follow the chain in 협력 (cooperation):

1. Start with the spelling: 협 + 력.
2. Change ㄹ to ㄴ after the stop ㅂ: [협녁].
3. Nasalize the ㅂ before the new ㄴ: ㅂ → ㅁ, giving [혐녁].

The same chain gives 국립 (national) [궁닙], 압력 (pressure) [암녁], 법률 (law) [범뉼] and 석류 (pomegranate) [성뉴]. The second step is ordinary nasalization, so if [ㄱ → ㅇ] and [ㅂ → ㅁ] are unfamiliar, review the ㄱ nasalization lesson. Almost all of these words share one feature: their origin.

Why Does It Mostly Affect Sino-Korean Words?

ㄹ nasalization mostly affects Sino-Korean words because those are the words in which a syllable starting with ㄹ follows a consonant. Sino-Korean words are built from hanja (Chinese characters), and many hanja readings begin with ㄹ: 리, 로, 력, 립, 류, 령, 락. Native Korean words, by contrast, rarely have a syllable starting with ㄹ right after a consonant.

A neat illustration is the initial-sound rule (두음 법칙). At the start of a word, a hanja reading with ㄹ is written with a different letter. Inside a word, the ㄹ returns, and then ㄹ nasalization or liquidization changes its sound.

The last row shows both rules. In 근로 the ㄹ follows ㄴ, so liquidization gives [글로], not ㄹ nasalization. Learning the hanja behind Sino-Korean words makes these patterns predictable. The comparison with liquidization deserves its own section.

How Is It Different from Liquidization?

ㄹ nasalization and liquidization are mirror images. In ㄹ nasalization, ㄹ becomes ㄴ after ㅁ, ㅇ, ㄱ or ㅂ. In liquidization, ㄴ becomes ㄹ next to ㄹ. The deciding factor is the consonant that meets ㄹ: ㄴ gives [ㄹㄹ], and any of the other four gives ㄴ.

There is one overlap. A few words with ㄴ + ㄹ take ㄹ nasalization instead of liquidization, giving [ㄴㄴ]: 공권력 (state authority) is [공꿘녁] and 생산량 (production volume) is [생산냥]. These are exceptions to liquidization, taught with Korean liquidization. For now, a broader word list builds the habit.

Ten Sino-Korean Words to Practise

The words below are common in news, signs and textbooks. Each one contains ㄹ after ㅁ, ㅇ, ㄱ or ㅂ.

Expert tip: when a Sino-Korean word has a stop before ㄹ, expect two changes, not one. Learners often stop at [독닙] and miss the final [동닙]. Place names give the same practice with a real-world check.

Place Names That Show the Rule

Korean place names are a reliable test, because their official romanized spellings show the spoken result. If the romanization has n where the Hangul has ㄹ, ㄹ nasalization is at work.

In 독립문, three changes stack up: ㄹ → ㄴ, ㄱ → ㅇ, and then ㅂ → ㅁ before the ㅁ of 문, giving [동님문]. In 왕십리, the ㄹ of 리 becomes ㄴ after ㅂ, and the ㅂ then becomes ㅁ: [왕심니]. One caution: road-name signs write the word 로 (road) separately, as in Jong-ro, and do not show sound changes across that hyphen. The worked example returns to a single, simple case.

Worked Example: 심리

The word 심리 (psychology, state of mind) is the hanja 심 (heart) plus 리 (reason), and it is spoken [심니]. It is the clearest example of Korean ㄹ nasalization because only one change applies.

1. Split into blocks: 심 / 리.
2. Mark the final of the first block: 심 ends in ㅁ.
3. Mark the start of the next block: 리 starts with ㄹ.
4. Apply the rule: ㄹ after ㅁ becomes ㄴ, so 리 is said [니].
5. Check for a chain: ㅁ is already a nasal, so nothing else changes.
6. Say the whole word: [심니], sim-ni.

You will know it worked when your lips close for ㅁ and the tongue tip then touches the ridge with air still flowing through the nose. There should be no l or r sound at all. The same word appears in 심리학 (psychology as a subject) [심니학]. The common mistakes follow.

Common Learner Mistakes

Learners often keep the written ㄹ or change it the wrong way. The mistakes below come from those habits.

• Mistake 1: keeping ㄹ. Learners often say *[종로] with an r. Actually ㄹ cannot follow ㅇ in standard speech, so it becomes ㄴ: [종노].
• Mistake 2: stopping half-way. Learners often say 독립 as *[독닙]. Actually the new ㄴ also nasalizes ㄱ, so the full form is [동닙].
• Mistake 3: mixing up the two rules. Learners often say 신라 as *[신나] by analogy with 심리. Actually ㄴ + ㄹ follows liquidization: [실라].
• Mistake 4: writing the sound. Learners often write 정니 or 종노 in dictation. Actually the spelling stays 정리 and 종로, because the change is only in speech.
• Mistake 5: changing ㄹ at the start of a word. Learners sometimes apply the rule to 라디오 (radio). Actually the rule needs a consonant before ㄹ inside the word.

Rule of thumb: ㄹ after ㅁ, ㅇ, ㄱ or ㅂ becomes ㄴ, and ㄱ or ㅂ then follow it into the nose. The practice set checks the rule and its mirror image.

Practice and Answer Key

Write the spoken form of each word in brackets. One item follows liquidization instead.

1. 심리
2. 종로
3. 정리
4. 독립
5. 협력
6. 대통령
7. 음료수
8. 국립
9. 강릉
10. 신라

Answer key

1. 심리 → [심니]
2. 종로 → [종노]
3. 정리 → [정니]
4. 독립 → [동닙]
5. 협력 → [혐녁]
6. 대통령 → [대통녕]
7. 음료수 → [음뇨수]
8. 국립 → [궁닙]
9. 강릉 → [강능]
10. 신라 → [실라] (ㄴ + ㄹ: liquidization, not ㄹ nasalization)

Nine or ten correct means the rule is secure. If you missed 4, 5 or 8, practise the chain; if you missed 10, revisit the comparison table.

Where to Go Next

The next section, Liquidization, covers the mirror rule, ㄴ next to ㄹ becoming [ㄹㄹ], as in 신라 and 설날. Return to the Nasalization section to see all nasal changes together.

This lesson covers Korean ㄹ nasalization in standard Seoul speech, after ㅁ, ㅇ, ㄱ and ㅂ. It does not cover the full exception list for ㄴ + ㄹ words, regional pronunciation, or loanwords. The audio shows one standard pronunciation, and real speakers vary in speed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you say 종로? Say [종노], jong-no. 종로, a central street and district in Seoul, is spelled with ㄹ, but the ㄹ follows the final ㅇ of 종 and turns into ㄴ. The district name Jongno-gu and stations such as Jongno 3-ga show the spoken form. Saying jong-ro sounds like reading letter by letter.

Is 정리 [정니]? Yes. 정리 (tidying, organising) is [정니]. The ㄹ of 리 follows the final ㅇ of 정, so it becomes ㄴ. The verb 정리하다 (to organise) is [정니하다], and the polite form 정리해요 is [정니해요]. Revised Romanization writes jeongni, matching the spoken form.

What about 독립? 독립 (independence) is [동닙], and two steps produce it. First, ㄹ after ㄱ becomes ㄴ, giving [독닙]. Second, ㄱ before that ㄴ becomes ㅇ, giving [동닙]. The Seoul landmark 독립문 (Independence Gate) is therefore [동님문], and its official romanization is Dongnimmun.

Why not 심리 [심리]? Korean speech does not allow ㄹ directly after ㅁ, so 심리 (psychology) cannot be said [심리] in standard pronunciation. The ㄹ changes to ㄴ, the nasal made at the same place as ㄹ, giving [심니]. Article 19 of the Standard Pronunciation Rules states this for ㅁ and ㅇ, with 담력 [담녁] and 대통령 [대통녕] as examples.

Is 설날 an example of ㄹ nasalization? No. 설날 (Lunar New Year) is [설랄], which is the opposite change: ㄴ after ㄹ becomes ㄹ. That rule is called liquidization or lateralization. ㄹ nasalization only happens when ㄹ follows ㅁ, ㅇ, ㄱ or ㅂ, and its result is always ㄴ, never ㄹ.