Posted: 2011-01-15 / Updated: 2018-02-07
When you say thank you ( 감사합니다 ) in Korean, you say gam-sa-ham-ni-da. You do not say gam-sa-hab-ni-da, due to nasal assimilation.
Nasal assimilation, or nasalization, is a process to convert a consonant into one of the nasal sound ㅁ(m) ㄴ(n) ㅇ(ng). When an ending consonant of a hangul is followed by a hangul with a beginning consonant ㅁ(m) or ㄴ(n), then nasal assimilation takes place. See the table below for the assimilation process.
| Ending Consonant | Pronunciation | After Assimilation | Example | |
| ㅂ ㅍ ㅄ ㄿ ㄼ | ㅂ | ㅁ | 감사합니다 [감사함니다] | |
| ㄷ ㅌ ㅈ ㅊ ㅅ ㅆ ㅎ | ㄷ | ㄴ | 믿는다 [민는다] | |
| ㄱ ㅋ ㄲ ㄳ ㄺ | ㄱ | ㅇ | 작년 [장년] |
Here are more examples:
| English Meaning | Example | Pronunciation After Assimilation |
| thank you | 고맙습니다 | [고맙슴니다] |
| front door | 앞문 | [암문] |
| how many years | 몇년 | [면년] |
| it is not there | 없나요 | [엄나요] |
| Is he gone? | 갔나요? | [간나요] |
| I am eating rice | 밥 먹어요 | [밤 머거요] |
| There are many clothes | 옷 많아요 | [온 마나요] |
As you can see in the last 2 examples, the nasal assimilation process can apply across word boundary, especially when you say it fast enough and do not pause between the words.
Related Grammar Points
- Pronunciations of Korean Consonants at the Beginning of a Word
- Resyllabification and Pronunciations of Korean Consonants
- Tensing and Pronunciations of Korean Consonants
- Voicing and Pronunciations of Korean Consonants
- Easy Ways to Memorize Korean Hangul - Consonants
- Stroke Order of Korean Hangul
- Easy Ways to Memorize Korean Hangul - Vowels