What Is 받침 (Batchim)? The Final Consonant, Explained
Written and reviewed by Jun and Jin, native Korean speakers
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After this page, you can find the 받침 (batchim) in any syllable block and predict how it changes the sound.
10-second answer
What does Batchim mean?
받침 (batchim, "supporting floor") is the consonant that sits at the BOTTOM of a Korean syllable block, closing out the sound — like the ㄴ in 한 (han) or the ㄱ in 학 (hak). Not every syllable has one, but when it does, it changes both pronunciation and grammar choices throughout the sentence.
Quick check — did that land?
1. What is 받침?
It's a 받침, the letter under the block.
Where Batchim Sits
A Korean syllable block can have 2 parts (consonant + vowel, no batchim: 가, 나, 마) or 3 parts (consonant + vowel + batchim: 감, 난, 만). The batchim is optional per syllable, but when present, it's pronounced as a closing consonant sound at the end of that syllable.
A note on spelling. The official romanization of 받침 is batchim, but you'll also see it written badchim or patchim. They're all the same word.
See also: The Korean Alphabet (Hangul), Explained
Why You've Already Been Using This Concept
Every "consonant vs vowel ending" rule covered elsewhere on this site is really a batchim rule in disguise:
| Situation | The real rule |
|---|---|
| 은/는 choice | 은 after batchim, 는 after no batchim |
| 이/가 choice | 이 after batchim, 가 after no batchim |
| 을/를 choice | 을 after batchim, 를 after no batchim |
| 이에요/예요 choice | 이에요 after batchim, 예요 after no batchim |
"Ends in a consonant" (as those pages put it for beginners) and "has batchim" mean the same thing — this page just gives that idea its real name.
Batchim Can Be More Than One Letter
Some syllables have TWO consonants stacked in the batchim slot (겹받침, "double batchim") — like 값 (gap, "price") which ends in ㅄ. Usually only one of the two sounds is actually pronounced, following patterns that take practice to internalize, but recognizing that the block ITSELF only allows two batchim slots at most is enough to start.
Pronunciation Shifts (7 Representative Sounds)
Even though Hangul has many possible batchim consonants, in actual pronunciation they collapse into just 7 representative closing sounds (ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅇ). For example, both ㅅ and ㅆ as batchim are pronounced like a ㄷ-stop, not like their usual "s" sound — which is why 옷 (clothes) sounds like "ot," not "os."
The Hangul Reading Practice tool has a batchim-word level for drilling exactly these closing sounds.
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1 — Thinking batchim = harder pronunciation only
It also drives grammar — the SAME consonant-vs-vowel logic behind 은/는, 이/가, 을/를, and 이에요/예요 is just batchim presence in disguise.
Mistake #2 — Assuming every batchim consonant is pronounced as written
Several batchim consonants shift to one of the 7 representative closing sounds — 옷 doesn't end in an "s" sound despite the ㅅ.
Mini Quiz
2. 학생 (haksaeng, "student") takes 은 or 는?
3. How many representative closing sounds do Korean batchim consonants collapse into in pronunciation?
Related Knowledge
Learn Next
Korean Double Consonants (ㄲㄸㅃㅆㅉ) Explained
You've covered the basic letters and batchim — the tensed double consonants are the last major pronunciation piece.
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