Korean 사잇소리 현상 and 사이시옷

---

Introduction

In Korean compound nouns, the sound at the boundary often changes. This is called 사잇소리 현상. The important point is that the ㅅ (사이시옷) in spelling does not create the sound; it is only a way to represent part of this phenomenon in writing. The sound change itself happens naturally to make words easier to pronounce.

Try reading the words without the change first, then compare them with how Koreans actually pronounce them. This will help you understand why the phenomenon exists.

---

1. Stronger Sounds (된소리되기)

• 문고리 / mun-gori (door handle)
  Pronunciation: [문꼬리 / mun-kkori]
  문고리가 헐거워요. – The door handle is loose.
• 밤길 / bam-gil (night road)
  Pronunciation: [밤낄 / bam-kkil]
  밤길은 위험해요. – Night roads are dangerous.

---

2. ㄴ Insertion (ㄴ sound insertion)

• 솜이불 / som-ibul (cotton quilt)
  Pronunciation: [솜니불 / som-nibul]
  솜이불이 따뜻해요. – The cotton quilt is warm.
• 서울여자 / seoul-yeoja (Seoul woman)
  Pronunciation: [서울녀자 / seoul-nyeoja]
  서울여자가 발표했어요. – A woman from Seoul presented.

---

3. With 사이시옷 in Writing

• 나뭇잎 / namu-ip (tree leaf)
  Pronunciation: [나문닙 / namu-nnip]
  나뭇잎이 떨어졌어요. – The tree leaves fell.
• 빗물 / bi-mul (rainwater)
  Pronunciation: [빈물 / bin-mul]
  빗물이 고였어요. – Rainwater collected.
• 햇빛 / hae-bit (sunlight)
  Pronunciation: [해삗 / hae-ppit]
  햇빛이 눈부셔요. – The sunlight is dazzling.
• 콧노래 / ko-norae (humming)
  Pronunciation: [콘노래 / kon-norae]
  콧노래를 불렀어요. – I was humming a tune.

---

4. Common Confusions in Spelling

• 만둣국 / mandu-guk (dumpling soup)
  Pronunciation: [만둗꾹 / mandut-kkuk]
  오늘 점심에 만둣국을 먹었어요. – I ate dumpling soup for lunch.
• 북엇국 / bugeo-guk (dried pollock soup)
  Pronunciation: [부걷꾹 / bugeot-kkuk]
  아침에 북엇국을 먹었어요. – I ate dried-pollock soup for breakfast.
• 공깃밥 / gong-i-bap (bowl of rice)
  Pronunciation: [공깃빱 / gonggit-ppap]
  공깃밥 하나 추가할게요. – We’ll add one bowl of rice.
• 등굣길 / deung-gyo-gil (way to school)
  Pronunciation: [등굗낄 / deung-gyot-kkil]
  등굣길에 비가 왔어요. – It rained on the way to school.
• 꼭짓점 / kkok-jijeom (vertex)
  Pronunciation: [꼭찓쩜 / kkok-jit-jjeom]
  삼각형의 꼭짓점을 표시하세요. – Mark the vertex.
• 장맛비 / jang-ma-bi (monsoon rain)
  Pronunciation: [장맏삐 / jang-mat-ppi]
  장맛비가 내렸어요. – The monsoon rain fell.

---

5. Special Cases: Sino-Korean words

Normally, Sino-Korean compounds do not take ㅅ in spelling, even if 사잇소리 is heard. For example:

• 대가(代價) / dae-ga → Pronunciation: [대까 / dae-kka] (payment, cost)
• 대가(大家) / dae-ga → Pronunciation: [대가 / dae-ga] (master, great figure)

However, there are six exceptions where ㅅ is written:

• 곳간 / gogan (storeroom)
  Pronunciation: [고깐 / go-kkang]
• 셋방 / sebang (rented room)
  Pronunciation: [셋빵 / set-ppang]
• 숫자 / suja (number, digit)
  Pronunciation: [숟짜 / sut-jja]
• 찻간 / chagan (train car)
  Pronunciation: [찯깐 / chat-kkan]
• 툇간 / toegan (side room)
  Pronunciation: [퉫깐 / toet-kkan]
• 횟수 / hoesu (number of times)
  Pronunciation: [횟쑤 / hoet-ssu]

---

6. Why does 사잇소리 현상 happen?

Try first without changes:

• mun-gori → mun-kkori
• bam-gil → bam-kkil
• som-ibul → som-nibul
• namu-ip → namu-nnip

The “without change” version feels heavy or awkward. Koreans naturally adjust sounds to make words flow more smoothly. The written ㅅ (사이시옷) simply marks this phenomenon in certain cases, but the sound change itself comes first.

---

Conclusion

사잇소리 현상 is a natural sound tendency in Korean. The sound change comes first, and the written ㅅ (사이시옷) is just a way of showing it in some words. For learners, the best approach is to pronounce words slowly without the change, then compare with the real pronunciation. This makes it easier to understand why Koreans naturally insert stronger sounds or ㄴ sounds.

---