The NG sound: velar nasal practice
NG is one sound, /ŋ/, made by pressing the back of the tongue against the soft palate and letting the air out through the nose. There is no G after it: “sing” ends in a nasal hum, not in “sin-g” or “sink”.
Say the NG words
Press Listen, then Say it. Green means the word was understood.
- sing/sɪŋ/
- thing/θɪŋ/
- long/lɔŋ/
- young/jʌŋ/
- running/ˈrʌnɪŋ/
- thinking/ˈθɪŋkɪŋ/
- singer/ˈsɪŋɚ/
- finger/ˈfɪŋɡɚ/
- longer/ˈlɔŋɡɚ/
- think/θɪŋk/
- bank/bæŋk/
- English/ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/
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How to make it
- Say “k” and freeze just before the release. The back of your tongue is against the soft palate. That is the position.
- Keep the tongue there and hum through your nose. That hum is /ŋ/.
- Lower the tongue silently when you finish. If you hear a click or a G, you released it with air.
When is the G pronounced?
| Pattern | Sound | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| NG at the end of a word | /ŋ/ only | sing, long, thing, running |
| Verb + -er or -ing | /ŋ/ only | singer, singing, hanger, bringing |
| NG inside a word that is not verb + ending | /ŋɡ/ | finger, anger, hungry, English, language |
| Comparative of an adjective | /ŋɡ/ | longer, stronger, younger |
| NK | /ŋk/ | think, bank, thank, uncle |
So “singer” has no G sound, but “finger” and “longer” do.
Common mistakes
- Adding a G or K: “sing-g”, “think-ing-k”. Common for Russian and German speakers. Stop the sound in the nose.
- Using plain N: “sin” for “sing”. The tongue tip is doing the work; keep it down behind the lower teeth and raise the back.
- Dropping it in -ing: “runnin”. Natives do this in casual speech, but it is informal.
Questions people ask
What is a velar nasal?
A nasal sound made at the velum, the soft palate. English has three nasals: /m/ at the lips, /n/ at the ridge, /ŋ/ at the velum.
Can a word start with NG?
Not in English. The sound appears only after a vowel.
How do I tell “thin” from “thing”?
In “thin” the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the teeth. In “thing” the tip stays down and the back of the tongue rises.
Related
- Minimal pairsA listening game with 24 word pairs that differ by one sound: ship or sheep?
- The TH soundTongue between the teeth: the two TH sounds, with words to say and check.
- Russian accent test8 sentences built on the sounds that give Russian speakers away.
- IPA sounds chartEvery vowel and consonant of English with its symbol, example words and audio.