Syllable Stacking Rules

A syllable that consists of a consonant and a "vertical vowel" is written with the consonant on the left and the vowel on the right:


n
+
a
=
na

A syllable that consists of a consonant and a "horizontal vowel" is written with the consonant on top and the vowel underneath:


m
+
o
=
mo

If a syllable has a consonant, vowel, and consonant, the final consonant, called patch'im (meaning “supporting floor” in Korean) goes to the bottom—or floor—of that syllable.


m
+
a
+
n
=
man

m
+
o
+
k
=
mok

All these examples follow the basic rule that all syllables must begin with a consonant. This means that we may have a problem...

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