Korean Phonology: Saissori

From UniLang Wiki

Saissori (사잇소리)

In Korean, when a noun that ends with voiced sound and a noun that starts with voiceless are put together to create a compound word, ㄴ or �? sounds are added. This is known as Saissori.

For example:

• �? + 등 = �?등 (pronounced '�?뜽')
• 뒤 + �?� = 뒷�?� (pronounced '뒨�?')
• �?� + 몸 = 잇몸 (pronounced '�?�몸')
• 비 + 물 = 빗물 (pronounced '빈물')
• 나무 + 잎 = 나뭇잎 (pronounced '나문닙')

Saissori are not spelled when the first noun ends with a consonant (like '�?'), and when the first noun ends with a vowel, a ㅅ is added.

Saissori were spelled in various ways - ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅸ, ㆆ, ㅅ, ㅿ - in Middle Korean but in Modern Korean they're just spelled with ㅅ, or not spelled at all. Following are examples when Saissori aren't spelled:

• 수 + 놈 = 수놈 (pronounced '순놈')
• 수 + 나사 = 수나사 (pronounced '순나사')

>> Languages >> Korean >> Korean Phonology