Liaison: Linking Sounds Smoothly

When a letter with a final consonant is followed by a vowel (a letter starting with ㅇ), the final consonant carries over and becomes the initial sound of the next letter. This is called 'liaison.'

💡 Tip: In writing you keep the final consonant in place, but in speech it links smoothly to the next sound. Just knowing this one rule makes your pronunciation far more natural.

With Clusters, Only One Side Carries Over

When a vowel follows a cluster final, only the second of the two consonants carries over to the next letter. For example, '읽어' is pronounced [일거]: the first consonant stays in the final position while only the second one links forward.

A Final ㅇ Does Not Carry Over

Liaison happens before a letter beginning with 'ㅇ,' but when the final consonant is itself 'ㅇ,' it does not carry over and stays put as the nasal [ng]. For example, 강아지 is pronounced [강아지].

Congratulations! You can now read Hangul. Test your skills with the 'Take the Quiz' below.