Tricky Pronunciations of the Consonant ㄹ (Rieul)

In Korean, the pronunciation of ㄹ and consonants preceding or following it, such as ㄱ (기억, giyeok), ㅂ (비읍, bieup) or ㅁ, differs from the 한글 reading. Because of rules of assimilation of ㄹ to ㄴ after nasal consonants, the pronunciation of ㄱ, ㄹ, and ㅂ needs to be accounted for these changes. This post lists some of these uncommon pronunciation transformations; comprehensive pronunciation rules can be found in Korean: A Comprehensive Grammar by Jaehoon Yeon and Lucien Brown (Routledge Edition)

ㄱ followed by ㄹ → ㅇ followed by ㄴ

When a character ends either with a ㄱ sound, and the next character starts with a ㄹ sound, the ㄱ transforms into ㅇ and the ㄹ turns into ㄴ. While words with this combination are not necessarily common, it could potentially be found in compound words or complex Sino-Korean words.

The table below lists all the words that show the pattern ㄱ followed by ㄹ among the 5000 most frequent Korean words (according to A Frequency Dictionary of Korean). While the list is short, be careful of compound words that may exhibit the same pattern.

Word Intermediate Step Final Pronunciation Meaning
국립 (→ 국닙) 궁닙 national
독립 (→ 독닙) 동닙 independent
목록 (→ 목녹) 몽녹 a list
식량 (→식냥) 싱냥 provisions (food)
폭력 (→폭녁) 퐁녁 violence

ㅂ followed by ㄹ → ㅁ followed by ㄴ

When a character ends either with a ㅂ sound, and the next character starts with a ㄹ sound, the ㅂ transforms into ㅁ, and the ㄹ turns into ㄴ. While words with this combination are not necessarily common, this pattern could potentially be found in compound words or complex Sino-Korean words.

The table below lists all the words that show the pattern ㄱ followed by ㄹ among the 5000 most frequent Korean words (according to  A Frequency Dictionary of Korean). While the list is short, be careful of compound words that may exhibit the same pattern.

Word Intermediate Step Final Pronunciation Meaning
법률 (→ 법뉼) 범뉼 law, legislation
압력 (→압녁) 암녁 pressure (gas)
합리적 (→합니적) → 함니적 reasonable, rational
협력 (→협녁) → 혐녁 collaboration

ㅁ followed by ㄹ → ㅁ followed by ㄴ 

When ㄹ is preceded by ㅁ, the pronunciation of ㄹ becomes ㄴ, matching the transformation from the previous paragraph. 

Word Pronunciation Meaning
금리 금니 interest rate
심리 심니 psychology
심리적 심니적 psychological
심리학 심니학 psychology (academic subject)
염려 염녀 concern, worry
침략 침냑 attack
Less common words below
감리 감니 construction supervision
삼류 삼뉴 third-rate (~bad, not famous)

See Also