ㄺ (리을기역): the Korean double final consonant

At the end of a word or before most consonants, the ㄱ is the sound you hear and the ㄹ stays silent. 닭 is [닥], 읽다 is [익따], 맑다 is [막따] and 흙 is [흑].

Before a vowel both letters appear: the ㄹ ends the first syllable and the ㄱ moves to the next. 닭이 is [달기], 읽어요 is [일거요] and 흙이 is [흘기].

Say 닭 (chicken) on its own first, as [닥], and then 닭이, which is read [달기]. Say 읽다 (to read) on its own first, as [익따], and then 읽어요, which is read [일거요]. Say 맑다 (to be clear) on its own first, as [막따], and then 맑은, which is read [말근]. Say 흙 (soil) on its own first, as [흑], and then 흙이, which is read [흘기].

In verbs, ㄺ before ㄱ is read as ㄹ, before other consonants as ㄱ, and before a vowel both letters return.

Forms worth repeating are 읽고 [일꼬], 읽지 [익찌], 읽는 [잉는], 읽은 [일근]; the written letters are the same, but the sounds shift around them.

Think of ㄺ as a door with two handles: 닭 uses the last one, and 읽고 uses the first.

Learners often copy the noun pattern into verbs and say 읽고 as [익꼬]. Keep the ㄹ in front of ㄱ for verbs and say [일꼬].

ㄺ is written as ㄹ followed by ㄱ (giyeok), both small enough to fit side by side under the vowel. Together they take four strokes: 3 strokes and 1 stroke.

For ㄺ (rieul-giyeok), keep the final compact: the consonant and vowel come first and ㄺ slips in below.

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

The pages for ㄹ and ㄱ (giyeok) explain each ingredient on its own.

In 닭 (chicken) the first block 닭 is made of ㄷ + ㅏ + ㄺ (rieul-giyeok), so the double final sits at the bottom.

In the case of ㄺ (rieul-giyeok), only one final spot exists under a vowel, so two consonants crowd into it and the reading rules decide which sound survives.

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

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

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

Practice the pair [닥] and [달기] aloud, bare form first and the vowel form second.

Print the ㄺ (rieul-giyeok) worksheet when you are ready: one page, built from the facts above, with the strokes to trace and a letter-spotting game.