은/는으로 사람과 것을 소개하는 방법

What does “받침 (batchim)” mean in Korean?

받침 (batchim) is the consonant that sits at the bottom of a Korean syllable block, under the main consonant and vowel. The name literally means “prop” or “support,” from 받치다 (“to hold up from below”). It is also the single thing that picks your topic marker: a noun ending in a 받침 takes 은, one ending in a vowel takes 는. So 마빈 (with a 받침) becomes 마빈은, while 저 (no 받침) becomes 저는.

The clip turns this into one quick question — “받침 있어요?” (“does it have a batchim?”) — and answers it on the spot: 마빈 has a final ㄴ, so 마빈은; 저 ends in a vowel with 받침 없어요 (“no batchim”), so 저는. The same yes/no test drives a whole family of A1 particles — 이/가 (subject), 을/를 (object), 와/과 (and) — where the consonant-ending form comes first. Learn to hear the 받침 once and you unlock all of them at the same time.