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    /n/ vs /ŋ/: thin vs thing

    The front nasal /n/ and the back nasal /ŋ/ separate sin/sing, ban/bang and win/wing, and /ŋ/ ends every -ing form in English, so the contrast is constantly on display.

    • Medium impact
    • 7 pairs
    • Three voices

    1 / 10

    Which word do you hear?

    See the difference

    For /n/ the tongue TIP touches behind the teeth; for /ŋ/ the BACK of the tongue rises to the /k/-position and the tip stays down. And never release a hard g after /ŋ/: 'sing', not 'sing-guh'.

    n

    as in thin

    Lips
    Relaxed
    Tongue
    Tip on the ridge behind the top teeth
    Voice
    On: feel your throat buzz
    Air
    Through the nose
    Learn n

    ŋ

    as in thing

    Lips
    Relaxed
    Tongue
    Back of the tongue up to the soft palate
    Voice
    On: feel your throat buzz
    Air
    Through the nose
    Learn ŋ

    All 7 pairs

    In a sentence

    Hardest for speakers of

    Questions

    What is the difference between thin and thing?
    thin /θɪn/ uses the /n/ sound while thing /θɪŋ/ uses /ŋ/. For /n/ the tongue TIP touches behind the teeth; for /ŋ/ the BACK of the tongue rises to the /k/-position and the tip stays down. And never release a hard g after /ŋ/: 'sing', not 'sing-guh'.
    Which learners find the /n/ vs /ŋ/ contrast hardest?
    It is most challenging for Spanish, French, Hindi, Farsi, Italian speakers, whose first languages don't separate these two sounds.