🌟 Day 9: Korean Linking Sounds (連音化 – Liaison)

Hi everyone! Welcome back!
Yesterday, we learned about softening sounds (liaison) in Korean pronunciation.
Today, we’ll look at another super useful concept: how two words or syllables “link” together smoothly when spoken aloud.

Mastering this will help your Korean sound much more fluent and natural—just like a native! Let’s go!

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🔠 What is Liaison in Korean (연음화)?

In Korean, when a syllable ends in a consonant (받침) and the next syllable starts with a vowel,
the final consonant moves over and links with the next vowel. This is called 연음화 (yeon-eum-hwa).

It’s one of the most common and natural pronunciation changes in Korean!

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🔹 How It Works

Let’s break it down with an example:

Written Spoken Meaning
꽃 + 이 꽃이 (kko-chi) The flower
책 + 을 책을 (chae-geul) The book (object marker)
옷 + 이 옷이 (o-si) The clothes
이름 + 은 이름은 (i-reu-meun) Name + topic marker

Notice:
The final consonant from the first word “slides” over to the next syllable starting with a vowel.

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🎯 Why Is It Important?

If you don’t use liaison, your Korean may sound choppy.
If you do use it, your Korean will sound smooth, fluent, and native-like.
It also helps with listening, because native speakers always apply these changes without thinking.

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📝 Practice Time!

Try reading these aloud using the liaison rule:
1. 꽃이 예뻐요 → kko-chi yeppeoyo (The flower is pretty)
2. 책을 읽어요 → chae-geul ilg-eoyo (I read a book)
3. 옷이 작아요 → o-si jag-ayo (The clothes are small)
4. 이름은 뭐예요? → i-reu-meun mwoyeyo? (What’s your name?)

Practice these out loud several times! Your ears and tongue will start to adjust naturally.

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Tomorrow, we’ll move on to hardening sounds (경음화)—sounds that get stronger!
Stay curious, and see you soon! Fighting!

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Let me know if you want the Japanese version too!