How to Pronounce 읽어요: Sounds, Rules and Examples

What you'll learn

• Say 읽어요 as [일거요] in three even beats.
• Say 읽다, 읽고 and 읽는 as [익따], [일꼬] and [잉는].
• Name the rule behind each of the four outcomes.
• Say the sentence 책을 읽어요.

Before you start: know that a batchim is the final consonant at the bottom of a block, and a double batchim is a pair of them. The lesson takes about 10 minutes, and audio plays only when you press a button.

Last updated: 2026-10-09. The Korean text, romanization and audio scripts on this page were generated and reviewed and signed off by Min-ji Park on 15 October 2026.

How to Pronounce 읽어요 in Three Steps

To pronounce 읽어요, say il-geo-yo with three even beats, with the ㄱ starting the second one. Read the steps in order.

1. 읽, said as 일 (il). Say "ee" and finish with the tongue tip touching the ridge behind the upper teeth, as for ㄹ at the end of a syllable.
2. 어, said as 거 (geo). The ㄱ moves here. Say a soft "guh" with relaxed lips.
3. 요 (yo). A quick "yo".

You will know it worked when you hear a clear "l" at the end of the first beat and a soft "g" at the start of the second. Next, the four rules behind the forms.

Which Rules Change 읽?

Four rules from the Standard Pronunciation Rules (표준 발음법) of the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) change 읽, and which one applies depends on the next sound. The verb 읽다 is one of the most common everyday words with the double batchim ㄺ, so it shows all four outcomes.

The exception in the third row is the key idea. Most ㄺ words reduce to ㄱ, such as the noun 닭 [닥], but a verb stem ending in ㄺ keeps its ㄹ before a ㄱ ending. For the full chart, see double batchim ㄺ. The nasal change in the fourth row is explained in ㄱ nasalization. Now hear each form.

How Does 읽 Sound in Each Form?

읽 sounds like [일] before a vowel, [익] before ㄷ, [일] before ㄱ, and [잉] before ㄴ. The ending decides, so listen to each form in turn.

A short sentence puts the polite form to use.

In this sentence 책을 is spoken [채글], because the ㄱ of 책 moves onto the particle 을. For more practice with reading words, see Korean reading practice. Now one complete trace.

Worked Example: from Spelling to Sound

The worked example below traces 읽어요 from the written form to the spoken form. Follow each step.

1. Split into blocks. 읽 / 어 / 요.
2. Find the batchim. 읽 ends in the double batchim ㄺ (ㄹ + ㄱ).
3. Look at what follows. 어 starts with a silent ㅇ, which means a vowel sound follows.
4. Apply the rule. The first consonant ㄹ stays on 읽. The second consonant ㄱ moves onto 어.
5. Write the spoken form. 일 + 거 + 요 = [일거요].
6. Say it aloud and check that the "l" ends the first beat and the "g" opens the second.

The same routine, split, find the batchim, look at the next sound, apply the rule, works for every word on this site. It is taught in full in the batchim method. Now the usual mistakes.

Why Do Learners Say Ilkeoyo?

Learners say "ilkeoyo" or "ikeoyo" because they apply one rule to every form. Four assumptions cause most errors.

• Learners often assume that ㄺ always reduces to ㄱ. Actually before a vowel the ㄹ stays, because the second consonant moves and the first remains.
• Learners often assume that 읽고 is spoken [익꼬]. Actually the verb stem keeps ㄹ before ㄱ, giving [일꼬], because the standard lists this as an exception.
• Learners often assume that 읽는 keeps an "l". Actually the ㄱ becomes ㅇ before ㄴ, giving [잉는], because stops turn nasal before a nasal.
• Learners often assume that the moved ㄱ turns tense in 읽어요. Actually a moved consonant keeps its plain sound, so 거 stays soft. The exception is ㅅ moving out of a double batchim, as in 없어요 [업써요].

Fix the first assumption and the others follow. Now test yourself.

Practice and Answer Key

Do the exercises after listening. Cover the answer key until you finish.

1. Polite. How is 읽어요 pronounced?
2. Dictionary. How is 읽다 pronounced?
3. Connective. How is 읽고 pronounced?
4. Modifier. How is 읽는 pronounced?
5. Sentence. How is 책을 읽어요 pronounced?

Answer key: 1. [일거요]. 2. [익따]. 3. [일꼬]. 4. [잉는]. 5. [채글 일거요].

Common questions follow.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I pronounce 읽어요? Say [일거요]: il, geo, yo. The ㄹ of the double batchim ㄺ stays on 읽, and the ㄱ moves onto 어 as a plain "geo". The last syllable is a quick "yo". Revised Romanization writes the word as ilgeoyo. Keep the three beats even and relaxed.

Is 읽다 pronounced 익따? Yes. Before ㄷ, the ㄺ is simplified to ㄱ, and the ㄷ becomes tense: [익따]. Reduction to ㄱ is the general rule for ㄺ before a consonant, as in 맑다 [막따]. Only before a ㄱ ending does the verb stem keep its ㄹ, so 읽고 is [일꼬], not [익꼬].

Why is 읽고 pronounced 일꼬? Verb stems that end in ㄺ keep the ㄹ before a ㄱ ending, which is an exception in the Standard Pronunciation Rules. The ㄱ of 고 also becomes tense. So 읽고 is [일꼬]. Nouns such as 닭고기 do not follow the exception and are spoken [닥꼬기].

What is 읽는 and how is it pronounced? 읽는 is the present modifier form, as in 읽는 책 (a book that someone reads). It is spoken [잉는]. The ㄺ is simplified to ㄱ, and then ㄱ becomes the nasal ㅇ before ㄴ. Two rules apply in turn: reduction of the double batchim, then nasalization.

Next Steps and Scope

How to pronounce 읽어요 comes down to four rules for one stem: ㄹ stays before a vowel, ㄱ before ㄷ, ㄹ before ㄱ, and ㅇ before ㄴ. This lesson does not cover every ending of 읽다, it does not score your speech, and the article numbers should be confirmed by a reviewer. Practise all four forms of the verb together. Build your reading skills with Korean reading practice, and return to How to Pronounce Korean Words for the full word list.

Next in the series: How to Pronounce Korean Words.