Sound Changes II: Tensing, Aspiration, Palatalization and Silent ㅎ

1. Tensing (경음화)

When a syllable ends in one of the stop sounds [ㄱ], [ㄷ] or [ㅂ], the next consonant ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ or ㅈ becomes tense: ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ. This happens because after a stop, your throat is already tight, so the next sound comes out tight too.

This rule is very regular. 학교 (school) is [학꾜]. 식당 (restaurant) is [식땅]. 잡지 (magazine) is [잡찌]. Remember again to think about the final sound: 옷장 (wardrobe) has 옷 [옫], so it is [옫짱].

There are two more places where tensing is common. First, after a verb stem ending in ㄴ or ㅁ: 신고 (wearing shoes, and…) is [신꼬], 감다 (to wash hair) is [감따]. Second, after the future ending -(으)ㄹ: 할 거예요 (I will do it) sounds like [할 꺼예요], and 갈 수 있어요 (I can go) sounds like [갈 쑤 이써요].

2. Aspiration (격음화)

When ㅎ meets ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ or ㅈ, in either order, the two sounds combine into one aspirated consonant: ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ or ㅊ.

ㅎ first: 좋다 (to be good) is [조타], 좋고 is [조코], 놓지 is [노치]. This also works with the hidden ㅎ in ㄶ and ㅀ: 많다 [만타], 싫지 [실치].

ㅎ second: 축하 (congratulations) is [추카]. 입학 (school entrance) is [이팍]. 백화점 (department store) is [배콰점]. 생각하다 (to think) is [생가카다].

Final ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ and ㅌ count as [ㄷ] here, so 따뜻하다 (to be warm) becomes [따뜨타다], 깨끗하다 (to be clean) becomes [깨끄타다], and 못해요 (I can’t do it) becomes [모태요].

One special pair: ㅎ followed by ㅅ makes [ㅆ]. 좋습니다 is [조씀니다].

3. Palatalization (구개음화)

When a final ㄷ or ㅌ meets a grammatical 이 (a particle or a suffix), it does not simply link as [디] or [티]. Instead it becomes [지] or [치]. Your tongue moves toward the position of ㅣ, and the sound changes.

같이 (together) is [가치], not [가티]. 굳이 (stubbornly, needlessly) is [구지]. 해돋이 (sunrise) is [해도지]. 밭이 (the field, as subject) is [바치], and 끝이 (the end, as subject) is [끄치].

The same thing happens with ㄷ + 히: the ㄷ and ㅎ combine to [ㅌ], which then becomes [ㅊ]. 닫히다 (to be closed) is [다치다].

This rule works only with a grammatical 이 at a word boundary. Inside a single root word like 디자인 (design) or 티셔츠 (T-shirt), ㄷ and ㅌ stay as they are.

4. Silent ㅎ (ㅎ 탈락)

When a verb or adjective stem ends in ㅎ (including ㄶ and ㅀ) and the ending starts with a vowel, the ㅎ is not pronounced at all. 좋아요 is [조아요]. 놓아요 (I put it down) is [노아요]. 넣어요 (I put it in) is [너어요].

If there is another consonant before the ㅎ, that consonant links to the vowel: 많아요 [마나요], 괜찮아요 (It’s okay) [괜차나요], 싫어요 [시러요].

You may also notice that in relaxed, fast speech many people make ㅎ very weak between vowels or after ㄴ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅇ, so 전화 (telephone) can sound close to [저놔]. The standard pronunciation keeps the ㅎ, so in careful speech say [전화].