The Aspiration Environment
격음화 is a common standard pronunciation pattern. When ㅎ is locally adjacent to ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ or ㅈ in a relevant word or connected form the pair commonly surfaces as one aspirated sound. Either order is possible and the spelling stays unchanged.
Core mappings
Source sequence · Result · Direction
ㅎ + ㄱ or ㄱ + ㅎ · ㅋ · Either order
ㅎ + ㄷ or ㄷ + ㅎ · ㅌ · Either order
ㅎ + ㅂ or ㅂ + ㅎ · ㅍ · Either order
ㅎ + ㅈ or ㅈ + ㅎ · ㅊ · Either order
This is a pronunciation prediction not a spelling change or a conjugation rule.
Spelling Versus Sound
Read the normal spelling first then compare the local sound you expect to hear. The bracketed forms below are pronunciation support for this lesson only.
Verified spelling and sound
Spelling · Sound · Why
좋다 · [조타] · Final ㅎ before ㄷ gives the ㅌ series.
놓고 · [노코] · Final ㅎ before ㄱ gives the ㅋ series.
축하 · [추카] · Final ㄱ before ㅎ gives the ㅋ series.
입학 · [이팍] · Final ㅂ before ㅎ gives the ㅍ series.
잡히다 · [자피다] · ㅂ before ㅎ gives the ㅍ series.
닫히다 · [다치다] · ㄷ and ㅎ meet in the written form; compare the complete standard sound.
The written forms remain 좋다 놓고 축하 입학 잡히다 and 닫히다.
Two Directions in Sentences
The sequence may show ㅎ before the target consonant or the target consonant before ㅎ. Keep the complete spelling while listening for the aspirated result.
ㅎ before a target consonant
오늘 날씨가 좋다. The final ㅎ in 좋다 meets ㄷ and is commonly heard as [조타].
민호는 책을 놓고 가요. The final ㅎ in 놓고 meets ㄱ and is commonly heard as [노코].
A target consonant before ㅎ
유진은 친구의 입학을 축하해요. 입학 is commonly heard as [이팍] and 축하 as [추카].