When a sound becomes nasal
Read & notice
In 국물, final ㄱ occurs before ㅁ and is pronounced [ㅇ], giving [궁물]. In 밥만, final ㅂ before ㅁ gives [밤만]. These are examples of nasal assimilation: a sound adjusts to a following nasal.
Keep the spelling 국물 and 밥만. A pronunciation change is not permission to rewrite the word. Identify the neighboring letters before applying a rule; not every consonant becomes nasal in every position.
Listen & connect
Listen, look at the word, then say it yourself. Synthetic Korean voice; replay as needed.
국물 → [?]
In 국물, final ㄱ occurs before ㅁ and is pronounced [ㅇ], giving [궁물]. In 밥만, final ㅂ before ㅁ gives [밤만]. These are examples of nasal assimilation: a sound adjusts to a following nasal.
밥만 → [?]
밤만 — In 국물, final ㄱ occurs before ㅁ and is pronounced [ㅇ], giving [궁물]. In 밥만, final ㅂ before ㅁ gives [밤만]. These are examples of nasal assimilation: a sound adjusts to a following nasal.
Reference & extension
Answer every check correctly to complete this lesson.
Sources & further reading
Facts checked against these sources; explanations are independently written.
National Institute of Korean Language ↗Online King Sejong Institute ↗