🌟 Day 12: Korean Sound Change – Liquidization (유음화 / yuumhwa)

Hello again, language explorers!
You’ve done an amazing job coming this far. Yesterday, we tackled nasalization. Today, let’s move on to another fascinating sound change in Korean: Liquidization!

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🔍 What is Liquidization?

Liquidization happens when two special consonants—ㄴ (n) and ㄹ (r/l)—meet and blend into a liquid ‘L’ sound (ㄹ). This change helps make pronunciation smoother and more natural.

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🧠 Basic Rules of Liquidization

There are two main cases:

1️⃣ ㄴ + ㄹ → ㄹ + ㄹ

When ㄴ comes before ㄹ, the ㄴ changes into ㄹ.
• Example:
• 신라 (sin-ra) → 실라 (shil-la) = Silla (a Korean kingdom)

2️⃣ ㄹ + ㄴ → ㄹ + ㄹ

When ㄹ comes before ㄴ, the ㄴ also changes into ㄹ.
• Example:
• 설날 (seol-nal) → 설랄 (seol-lal) = Korean New Year

So whenever ㄴ and ㄹ bump into each other, they both turn into ㄹ and create that rolling “L” sound.

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📚 More Examples:

Written Form Pronounced As Meaning
신라 (sin-ra) 실라 (shil-la) Silla (historic kingdom)
설날 (seol-nal) 설랄 (seol-lal) Lunar New Year
물놀이 (mul-nori) 물로리 (mul-lori) Water play
전라도 (jeon-ra-do) 절라도 (jeol-la-do) Jeolla Province



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🎯 Why Should I Learn This?

Understanding liquidization will:
• Help you recognize native Korean pronunciation.
• Make your spoken Korean sound more fluent and natural.
• Improve listening comprehension when watching K-dramas or listening to Korean music!

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🗣️ Practice Time!

Try reading these aloud while paying attention to the ㄴ and ㄹ transformation:
1. 신라 → 실라
2. 설날 → 설랄
3. 물놀이 → 물로리
4. 전라도 → 절라도

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That’s it for today!
Sound changes like this one are part of what makes Korean fun and unique.
Tomorrow, we’ll cover Palatalization (구개음화 / gugaeumhwa)—another cool transformation in pronunciation.
See you then! Keep up the great work!