I can read two words together, moving the 받침 to the next vowel, hear where the sound differs from the spelling, and write a word as in the dictionary and a phrase with spaces between words.
연음 and spacing
연음 and spacing
If a 받침 is followed by a syllable that starts with ㅇ, that is, with a vowel, the 받침 moves to that vowel. This is 연음 (linking), as in English “an apple” said “a-napple”: 음악 “music” is read [으막], 밥을 [바블], 옷이 [오시], 읽어요 “I read” [일거요]. It happens inside a word and where words meet in one phrase.
Word spacing (띄어쓰기): words are separated by spaces, and a particle or ending is attached to its word: 저는 러시아 사람이에요 “I'm Russian” (Anna's line; you'll meet her in module 1). Here 저는 = 저 + 는, 사람이에요 = 사람 + 이에요; module 1 explains what these are.
The checker ignores spaces and punctuation, but read by the spaces: they show where a word ends.
Common mistakes:
• NOT 음악 read letter by letter, “eum-AK” — we read [으막].
• NOT a particle written separately, like an English preposition: not “밥 을” but 밥을.
• NOT a space inside a word: not “음 악” but 음악.
The bottom letter moves to the vowel
| Written | Read as | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 음악 | [으막] | music |
| 밥을 | [바블] | “rice” with a particle |
| 옷이 | [오시] | “clothes” with a particle |
| 읽어요 | [일거요] | I read |
Where to put a space
| How it's written | Made of |
|---|---|
| 저는 러시아 사람이에요 | 3 words separated by spaces (“I'm Russian”) |
| 저는 | 저 + 는 — attached |
| 사람이에요 | 사람 + 이에요 — attached |
Lesson notes
연음 and spacing
If a 받침 is followed by a syllable that starts with ㅇ, that is, with a vowel, the 받침 moves to that vowel. This is 연음 (linking), as in English “an apple” said “a-napple”: 음악 “music” is read [으막], 밥을 [바블], 옷이 [오시], 읽어요 “I read” [일거요]. It happens inside a word and where words meet in one phrase.
Word spacing (띄어쓰기): words are separated by spaces, and a particle or ending is attached to its word: 저는 러시아 사람이에요 “I'm Russian” (Anna's line; you'll meet her in module 1). Here 저는 = 저 + 는, 사람이에요 = 사람 + 이에요; module 1 explains what these are.
The checker ignores spaces and punctuation, but read by the spaces: they show where a word ends.
Common mistakes:
• NOT 음악 read letter by letter, “eum-AK” — we read [으막].
• NOT a particle written separately, like an English preposition: not “밥 을” but 밥을.
• NOT a space inside a word: not “음 악” but 음악.
Write by the dictionary, say it by the rule
Where two syllables meet, the sound sometimes changes, but the spelling doesn't. Learn these three cases by ear, but always spell the word as in the dictionary.
ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ before ㄴ ㅁ sound like ㅇ, ㄴ, ㅁ: 작년 “last year” [장년], 십만 “a hundred thousand” [심만].
After ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ, a lax consonant turns tense: 학생 “student” [학쌩], 식당 “cafeteria” [식땅].
ㅎ between voiced sounds weakens or disappears: 좋아요 “good” [조아요], 많이 “a lot” [마니].
Common mistakes:
• NOT writing 장년, 학쌩, 조아요 — that's how they sound, not how the words are spelled.