Korean Syllables: How Blocks and Batchim Work

Every block starts with a consonant, even if it begins with a vowel sound, and the silent ㅇ fills that place. The vowel sits beside or under the consonant, and a final consonant, if any, goes underneath.

Mixing 19 first consonants, 21 vowels and 28 choices for the final (counting none), Korean allows 11,172 blocks in total.

One tracing worksheet for each of the 14 syllables. Pick one, flip through it, then download the PDF for your paper size.

The final consonant of a block is called batchim (받침). There are 27 ways to spell it, 16 single letters and 11 double ones, but only seven sounds are ever heard at the end of a block.

The seven sounds are k, n, t, l, m, p and ng. Letters that look different can share one: ㄱ, ㄲ and ㅋ all end as k, and ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ and ㅎ all end as t.

Rule one: at the end of a word or before a consonant, a batchim is read as one of the seven sounds above, so 꽃 is [꼳].

Rule two: when a vowel follows, the batchim moves to the start of the next block and keeps its own sound, so 꽃이 is [꼬치] and 책이 is [채기].

Rule three: ㅇ at the end stays put and is not carried forward, so 공이 is still [공이].

Eleven double finals sit in the batchim spot: ㄳ ㄵ ㄶ ㄺ ㄻ ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㄿ ㅀ ㅄ. At the end of a word only one of the two letters is heard, and which one depends on the pair: ㄳ ㄵ ㄶ ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㅀ ㅄ keep the first, while ㄺ ㄻ ㄿ keep the last.

Examples are 몫 (share) [목], 닭 (chicken) [닥], 삶 (life) [삼], and 값 (price) [갑]. Each pair has a page that explains its sound, its exceptions and its linking forms.

Read the block in three beats: the opening consonant, the vowel, then the closing sound from the table above. Then look at the next block: if it begins with a vowel, move the batchim forward.

Start with the fourteen blocks that pair each basic consonant with ㅏ: 가 (ga), 나 (na), 다 (da), 라 (ra), 마 (ma), 바 (ba), 사 (sa), 아 (a), 자 (ja), 차 (cha), 카 (ka), 타 (ta), 파 (pa), 하 (ha).

They are the quickest route into the rest of the alphabet: once these are easy, every other block is a new pairing of familiar parts.

A full syllable chart would have 11,172 cells, so this site teaches the structure instead and gives you the starter row, the six endings for each starter, and a practice area for the rest.

Read every block in the same three steps: the first consonant, then the vowel, then the final consonant if there is one. For 한 you say h, then a, then n, which gives han; for 가 there is no final, so the reading stops at ga.