ㅎ Before a Vowel: The ㅎ Drops

You have learned that a batchim slides forward onto a following vowel — 밥을 becomes [바블], 옷이 becomes [오시]. There is exactly one batchim that refuses to play along: ㅎ. Unlike every other final consonant, a final ㅎ before a vowel does not link — it vanishes, and the two syllables simply merge. 좋아요 is not "jo-ha-yo" and not a linked "[조하요]"; it is [조아요], with no trace of the ㅎ. This one exception, called ㅎ-deletion (ㅎ 탈락), is behind a whole family of words that feel irregular but are, in fact, obeying a clean rule.

Why ㅎ can't link: it has no sound to donate

Think back to what liaison actually does: a batchim relinks by dropping its solid consonant sound into the empty onset slot next door. The ㄱ of 국 lands on 어 and you hear a real [g] in [한구거]. But ㅎ is a puff of breath, not a solid consonant, and Korean does not tolerate an [h] sound between two vowels the way English does (compare English "a-head," where the h survives). So when a vowel follows, ㅎ has nothing to hand over. It simply drops, and the syllable before it joins directly to the vowel.

좋아요 → [조아요]. The 좋 loses its ㅎ, and 조 + 아요 run together. There is no [h] anywhere in the word.

놓았어요 → [노아써요] — again the ㅎ evaporates. (Notice 가방을 stays batchim ㅇ doesn't link either, but for a completely different reason — see the letter ㅇ. ㅎ drops because it has no sound; ㅇ stays because it already is a sound.)

넣어 → [너어]. The stem 넣- surrenders its ㅎ before the vowel ending, and you are left with two open vowels sliding together.

The clusters ㄶ and ㅀ: the ㅎ drops, the other letter links

Two of the ㅎ-final stems carry a cluster: ㄶ (ㄴ + ㅎ) as in 많다, 괜찮다, and ㅀ (ㄹ + ㅎ) as in 싫다, 잃다. Before a vowel these behave like a merger of the two rules you now know: the ㅎ drops, and the other member of the cluster — the ㄴ or the ㄹ — links forward in its place.

많이 → [마니]. The ㅎ of the ㄶ cluster drops, and the surviving ㄴ links onto 이: [마니]. Not "[만히]," not "[만이]" — a clean [마니].

싫어요 → [시러요]. The ㅎ of the ㅀ cluster drops, and the ㄹ links onto 어: [시러요]. (음식이 also relinks normally to [음시기].)

괜찮아요 → [괜차나요] — the ㅎ drops and the ㄴ links. These cluster words are among the most frequent in the language (많다, 괜찮다, 싫다), so this pattern is worth drilling until it is automatic.

The flip side: before ㄱ / ㄷ / ㅈ, ㅎ does the opposite

Here is why ㅎ-final adjectives — 좋다, 많다, 싫다, 괜찮다 — feel "irregular." The very same ㅎ that vanishes before a vowel fuses into aspiration before ㄱ, ㄷ, or ㅈ. It does not disappear there; it grabs the following plain consonant and turns it aspirated:

그렇게 → [그러케]: the ㅎ + ㄱ fuse into the aspirated ㅋ. The ㅎ is not gone — it has been absorbed into the [k]. So one stem can show the ㅎ as nothing (before a vowel) and as aspiration (before a stop), depending entirely on what follows. Compare the dictionary form 좋다, pronounced [조타] (ㅎ + ㄷ → ㅌ), with 좋아요 [조아요] and 좋고 [조코] (ㅎ + ㄱ → ㅋ): same 좋-, three environments, three fates.

좋다 → [조타]. This is the exclamatory plain form (informal / 반말), common when reacting to something out loud. The ㅎ has fused into the ㄷ as an aspirated ㅌ. That aspiration is fully shown in Revised Romanization ("jota"), unlike the vowel case where the ㅎ leaves no letter behind at all. The mechanics of ㅎ-plus-stop fusion have their own page — see aspiration: ㅎ and a stop — and the cluster finals ㄶ, ㅀ before consonants are covered in ㅎ-cluster finals.

An orthography note: keep the ㅎ in your spelling

Because the ㅎ is inaudible before a vowel, learners are tempted to stop writing it. Standard orthography keeps it: the word is spelled 좋아요, 싫어요, 괜찮아요, even though you say [조아요], [시러요], [괜차나요]. (You will see 조아요 in casual texting, where people deliberately spell things as they sound — but that is an informal register choice, not correct standard spelling.) The ㅎ stays on the page for the same reason every batchim does: it belongs to the word, and it reappears audibly the moment a stop follows (좋다 [조타]).

Common Mistakes

1. Pronouncing the ㅎ as an [h]. The number-one error: reading 좋아요 as "jo-ha-yo," inserting an English-style [h] between the vowels.

• ✗ 좋아요 read as "jo-ha-yo."
• ✓ 좋아요 [조아요] — the ㅎ drops entirely.

2. Linking the ㅎ like a normal batchim. Learners who have just mastered liaison over-apply it and try to slide the ㅎ forward as an [h]. It has no sound to slide.

• ✗ 넣어 read as "neo-heo," carrying an [h] over.
• ✓ 넣어 [너어] — two open vowels, no consonant between them.

3. Reading 많이 as [만히] or [만이]. The ㅎ drops and the ㄴ links; the result is neither a spelled-out [만히] nor a gap [만이].

• ✗ 많이 read as "man-hi" or "man-i."
• ✓ 많이 [마니] — ㅎ gone, ㄴ linked.

4. Dropping a ㅎ that should aspirate. Before ㄱ / ㄷ / ㅈ the ㅎ does not vanish — it aspirates the next consonant. 좋다 is [조타], not a de-aspirated "[조다]."

• ✗ 좋다 read as "jo-da."
• ✓ 좋다 [조타] — ㅎ + ㄷ fuse into aspirated ㅌ.

5. Deleting the ㅎ from your writing. It is silent before a vowel but still part of the word. Spell 싫어요, not 시러요 (except as deliberate casual texting).

Key Takeaways

• ㅎ is the exception to liaison. Before a vowel it does not link — it drops, and the syllables merge: 좋아요 [조아요], 놓았어요 [노아써요], 넣어 [너어].
• In the clusters ㄶ (많다, 괜찮다) and ㅀ (싫다), the ㅎ drops and the surviving ㄴ / ㄹ links forward: 많이 [마니], 싫어요 [시러요], 괜찮아요 [괜차나요].
• The same ㅎ has the opposite fate before ㄱ / ㄷ / ㅈ — it fuses into aspiration: 좋다 [조타], 좋고 [조코], 좋지 [조치]. This is why ㅎ-stems merely look irregular.
• Spelling keeps the ㅎ (좋아요, not 시러요) even though it is inaudible before a vowel; casual texting spellings like 조아요 are an informal register choice, not standard.