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The maximum number of syllables that can be written in Hangeul is 11,172. The number of initial sounds in Hangeul is 19 (ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ), the number of neutral sounds is 21 (ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅘ ㅚ ㅙ ㅝ ㅟ ㅞ ㅢ), and the number of final sounds is 27 (ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅊ ㅍ ㅎ ㄲ ㅆ ㄳ ㄵ ㄶ ㄺ ㄻ ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㄿ ㅀ ㅄ), but there is one case where there is no final sound, so if we assume that there are 28 combinations, the total number of characters in Hangeul is 11172. (19 x 21 x 28 = 11172). Of the 11,172 characters, around 2,500 are used. In modern Korean, many letters are not used because of the loss of speech sounds, but these letters can be applied to write down various speech sounds. 
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Hangeul is a unique writing system that groups letters into syllable units centered on vowels. This is achieved by combining the initial and final consonants (받침) around the vowel. There are syllables with initial consonants and middle vowels without final consonants. Unlike the English alphabet, which is written only horizontally, Hangeul can be arranged horizontally and vertically by placing the final consonants (받침) at the bottom. This unique characteristic has led to the creation of syllable tables.  Hangeul is a phonemic script. However, practically, it is used as a syllabic script that combines consonants and vowels to represent a syllable. In written Korean syllables, the first sound(초성) should be a consonant. If the first sound begins with a vowel, then a placeholder "ㅇ" should be placed in front of the vowel, such as 아, 야, 어, 여, 이 instead of ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅣ, or above the vowel such as 오, 요, 우, 유, 으 instead of ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ. The pronunciation of the vowels is the same as that of the sound with the placeholder "ㅇ" attached. That is, "ㅇ" is a silent placeholder consonant. When syllables consist of "consonant + vowel + consonant," the last consonant(or final consonant) is called "Batchim." "Batchim" is the noun form of the verb "받치다," which is "to support" in English. The final consonant or the last consonant in a written syllable looks like it supports the vowel. Korean is a language with many closed syllables ending with consonants, and the final consonant(Batchim) is the notation of the end sound of the closed syllable. In modern Korean, there are 27 final consonants(받침). There are 14 batchims with one consonant, 홑받침(hotbatchim), such as ㄱ(목), ㄴ(손), ㄷ(달), ㄹ(말), ㅁ(몸), ㅂ(밥), ㅅ(옷), ㅇ(영), ㅈ(낮), ㅊ(꽃), ㅋ(녘), ㅌ(밭), ㅍ(앞), ㅎ(좋다), there are 11 batchims with two different consonants, 겹받침(gyeopbatchim), such as ㄳ(넋, 몫, 삯), ㄵ(앉다, 얹다), ㄶ(많다, 끊다), ㄺ(닭, 흙), ㄻ(삶, 젊다), ㄼ(넓다, 얇다), ㄽ(곬, 옰), ㄾ(핥다, 홅다), ㄿ(읊다), ㅀ(굻다, 뚫다), ㅄ(값), and there are only batchim with the same two consonants, 쌍받침(ssangbatchim), such as ㄲ(밖) and ㅆ(있다). The pronunciation of the batchim does not always the same as the batchim letter itself. In gyeopbatchim, only one of the two is pronounced. In ssangbatchim, "ㄲ" is pronounced as "ㄱ" and "ㅆ" is pronounced as "ㄷ". In hotbatchim, 'ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ' as 'ㄷ', 'ㅋ' as 'ㄱ', 'ㅌ' as 'ㄷ', and 'ㅍ' as 'ㅂ'. Therefore, the pronunciation of the batchim is limited to seven sounds, 'ㄱ(k), ㄴ(n), ㄷ(t), ㄹ(l), ㅁ(m), ㅂ(p), ㅇ(ng).' However, when particles, endings, and suffixes starting with vowels are attached, they are pronounced as their original sound, and in the case of 홑받침 and 쌍받침 in syllables, they are pronounced as the first sound of the next syllable, and in the case of 겹받침, only the right batchim is transferred to the first sound of the next syllable. In addition, when the 받침 'ㅎ' is followed by the sounds 'ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅈ', it is combined with them and becomes an aspiration sound (놓고 → 노코, 닿다 → 다타, 낳자 → 나차)."    Hangeul is a phonetic alphabet like the English alphabet. Korean alphabet letters do not array in a row like the English alphabet. Instead, consonants and vowels are combined to make syllables, which is called "모아쓰기(Mo.a.sseu.gi)." "모아쓰기" in English can be translated into "Collective Writing." In "모아쓰기," the final consonant at the bottom of the middle vowel is called "받침(Batchim)".
The basic pattern of syllables in Korean is "Initial(or First) Sound(consonant) + Middle Sound(vowel) + Final Sound(consonant). There are syllables consisting of only a vowel or syllables consisting of "Middle sound(vowel) + Final sound(consonant)". The consonant in the final sound position is called "받침(Batchim)". In other words , a consonant that is positioned at the end of a syllable is called the final sound or Batchim. Final sound, final consonant, and batchim are the same meaning. "받침 (Batchim)" is a noun form of the verb "받치다(Batchida)," which means support or prop by positioning below the middle vowel. The shape of Korean syllables looks like a square box. According to the Standard Korean Dictionary, "받침" can be divided into three categories, "홑받침(Hotbatchim)," "쌍받침(Ssangbatchim)," and "겹받침(Gyeopbatchim)." "홑(Hot)" in "홑받침(Hotbatchim)" means "single". "홑받침" consists of single consonants such as, ‘ㄱ’, ‘ㄴ’, ‘ㄷ’, ‘ㄹ’, ‘ㅁ’, ‘ㅂ’, ‘ㅅ’, ‘ㅇ’, ‘ㅈ’, ‘ㅊ’, ‘ㅋ’, ‘ㅌ’, ‘ㅍ’, ‘ㅎ’. "쌍(Ssang)" in "쌍받침(Ssangbatchim)" means "Double." There are only two ssangbatchim, 'ㄲ(ssanggiyeok)' and 'ㅆ(ssangsiot).' "겹받침(Gyeopbatchim)" is similar to "쌍받침(ssangbatchim)" in that there are two paired consonants. But the two paired consonants are different, not like double consonants (ㄲ and ㅆ). There are 11 Gyeopbatchim, "ㄳ, ㄵ, ㄶ, ㄺ, ㄻ, ㄼ, ㄽ, ㄾ, ㄿ, ㅀ, ㅄ." Gyeopbatchim is simply a combination of two different consonants and is not included in the consonant group of the Korean alphabet. From the Korean standard pronunciation rule, there are 19 consonants and 21 vowels in the Korean alphabet. According to modern Korean writing rule, most consonants except for some double consonants can be written in the final sound position, but only seven consonants(ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅇ) can be pronounced. So, when a consonant that does not belong to these seven consonants is placed in the final sound position, it is changed to one of these seven consonants. That is, when it comes to pronouncing "Batchim", only seven consonants "ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅇ" are pronounced as the Batchim sound in Korean. For example, when "ㄲ" is used as "Batchim," it is pronounced the same sound as "ㄱ" as shown in the table below. |
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