ㄼ (리을비읍): the Korean double final consonant

Normally the first letter is the one you hear, so ㄼ is read as ㄹ: 여덟 is [여덜], 넓다 is [널따], 짧다 is [짤따] and 얇다 is [얄따]. The ㅂ is silent.

Before a vowel the ㅂ moves forward: 여덟이 is [여덜비], 넓어요 is [널버요], 짧아요 is [짤바요], 얇아요 is [얄바요] and 밟아요 is [발바요].

Say 여덟 (eight) on its own first, as [여덜], and then 여덟이, which is read [여덜비]. Say 넓다 (to be wide) on its own first, as [널따], and then 넓어요, which is read [널버요]. Say 짧다 (to be short) on its own first, as [짤따], and then 짧아요, which is read [짤바요]. Say 얇다 (to be thin) on its own first, as [얄따], and then 얇아요, which is read [얄바요]. Say 밟다 (to step on) on its own first, as [밥따], and then 밟아요, which is read [발바요].

Before a consonant the ㄹ is kept and the ㅂ is silent, except in 밟다, where the ㅂ is kept instead.

Practice the shifts in 넓고 [널꼬], 짧지 [짤찌], 짧은 [짤븐], 여덟도 [여덜도] until each reading feels normal.

Think of ㅂ as a bystander in this pair: it is heard only when a vowel calls it forward, or in the odd word 밟다.

Learners usually apply the ㄹ rule to 밟다 and say [발따]. The natural reading is [밥따], with the ㅂ.

ㄼ is written as ㄹ followed by ㅂ (bieup), both small enough to fit side by side under the vowel. Together they take seven strokes: 3 strokes and 4 strokes.

With ㄼ (rieul-bieup), build the block from the top, leaving a small bottom row for ㄼ.

Look at the ingredients: ㄹ (rieul) comes from the tip of the tongue with a quick touch of the tongue tip, and ㅂ comes from both lips with a light breath.

For ㄼ (rieul-bieup), if either ingredient feels shaky, review the pages for ㄹ and ㅂ first.

In 여덟 (eight) the first block 여 is made of ㅇ + ㅕ (yeo), so the double final sits at the bottom.

In the case of ㄼ (rieul-bieup), because the final spot is single, Korean cannot pronounce both letters at once at the end of a word, and a rule picks one.

Each word here uses ㄼ (rieul-bieup) as its final; the table lists the reading and the meaning.

With ㄼ (rieul-bieup), there are eleven double finals in all. ㄳ, ㄵ, ㄶ, ㄽ, ㄾ, ㅀ, and ㅄ are read from the first letter as well, while ㄺ, ㄻ, and ㄿ follow the other pattern.

For ㄼ (rieul-bieup), learning them in two groups, those read from the first letter and those read from the last, covers all eleven.

With ㄼ (rieul-bieup), say each word in the table twice, once alone and once with the vowel ending, and listen for the moment the second letter reappears. In the case of ㄼ (rieul-bieup), repeat until the switch from [여덜] to [여덜비] feels automatic.

The worksheet for ㄼ (rieul-bieup) is a single printable page made from the same data as this page: it has the stroke order, tracing rows and a find-the-letter game.