ㅀ (리을히읗): the Korean double final consonant

The ㄹ is the final sound you hear and the ㅎ is not pronounced by itself. With ㅀ (rieul-hieut), when the next syllable starts with ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅈ, the ㅎ blends in and makes it a strong sound, so 옳다 is [올타] and 싫다 is [실타].

Before a vowel the ㅎ is silent, and the ㄹ links to the next syllable: 옳아요 is [오라요], 앓아요 is [아라요], 싫어요 is [시러요] and 닳아요 is [다라요].

Say 옳다 (to be right) on its own first, as [올타], and then 옳아요, which is read [오라요]. Say 앓다 (to be ill) on its own first, as [알타], and then 앓아요, which is read [아라요]. Say 싫다 (to dislike) on its own first, as [실타], and then 싫어요, which is read [시러요]. Say 닳다 (to wear out) on its own first, as [달타], and then 닳아요, which is read [다라요].

The ㄹ is always heard, the ㅎ puffs up a following ㄱ or ㅈ, and the ㅎ is silent before a vowel.

Forms worth repeating are 옳고 [올코], 싫지 [실치], 싫은 [시른], 앓는 [알른]; the written letters are the same, but the sounds shift around them.

Think of ㅎ here as a sigh: it lifts the next consonant or fades into the vowel.

Learners often say 싫다 as [실다] with a plain d. The ㅎ makes it [실타].

ㅀ is written as ㄹ followed by ㅎ (hieut), both small enough to fit side by side under the vowel. For ㅀ (rieul-hieut), together they take six strokes: 3 strokes and 3 strokes.

In the case of ㅀ (rieul-hieut), keep the final compact: the consonant and vowel come first and ㅀ slips in below.

ㄹ (리을) is made with the tip of the tongue and gives a quick touch of the tongue tip, while ㅎ (히읗) is made with the throat and gives a breathy h.

With ㅀ (rieul-hieut), each of the two letters has its own page, so you can compare ㄹ and ㅎ (hieut) before reading how they behave together.

In 옳다 (to be right) the first block 옳 is made of ㅇ + ㅗ + ㅀ (rieul-hieut), so the double final sits at the bottom.

For ㅀ (rieul-hieut), because the final spot is single, Korean cannot pronounce both letters at once at the end of a word, and a rule picks one.

The words below all contain ㅀ (rieul-hieut); the right-hand column shows how their ending sounds before a vowel.

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

With ㅀ (rieul-hieut), sorting the eleven pairs into first-letter and last-letter groups turns a long list into two small rules.

For ㅀ (rieul-hieut), read each word aloud in two forms, bare and with its vowel ending, and keep going until [올타] and [오라요] come out without thinking.

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