Pronunciation · consonant
The /ŋ/ sound — ng as in sing
In short
/ŋ/ is a velar nasal — the consonant you hear in sing, thinking, long. It is voiced: your vocal cords vibrate while you make it. Below: exactly how to position your mouth, audio you can copy, the mistakes learners actually make, and drills to fix them.
How to pronounce /ŋ/
- 1Raise the back of your tongue to the soft palate — the /k/ /ɡ/ position.
- 2Let the sound come through your nose.
- 3Do NOT release into a g or k afterwards: 'sing', not 'sing-guh'.
Sounds like: the hum at the end of 'song', made at the back of the mouth
/ŋ/ in words — with audio
Listen, then copy. The slow (turtle) version exaggerates the mouth movement.
- sing/sɪŋ/ · sound is final
- thinking/ˈθɪŋkɪŋ/ · sound is medial
- long/lɒŋ/ · sound is final
- language/ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/ · sound is medial
- something/ˈsʌmθɪŋ/ · sound is final
The mistake almost everyone makes
Adding a hard g or k after it ('singer' → 'sin-ger', 'thing' → 'think') or fronting it to /n/ ('working' → 'workin'). It never starts an English word.
Who struggles with this sound:
- Arabic speakers — /ŋ/ becomes /n/ or /nɡ/ — 'sing' → 'sin' or 'sing-g'
- French speakers — /ŋ/ gains a hard g — 'singing' → 'sing-ging'
- Turkish speakers — /ŋ/ becomes /n/ — 'sing' → 'sin'
- Farsi speakers — /ŋ/ gains a hard g — 'singer' → 'sing-ger'
Spellings of /ŋ/
These letter patterns commonly spell /ŋ/: ng n(k) n(g). English spelling is unreliable — trust the IPA, not the letters.
Don't confuse it with…
Minimal pairs isolate the exact contrast — the fastest way to train both your ear and your mouth.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you pronounce the /ŋ/ sound?
Raise the back of your tongue to the soft palate — the /k/ /ɡ/ position. Let the sound come through your nose. Do NOT release into a g or k afterwards: 'sing', not 'sing-guh'.
What is the most common mistake with /ŋ/?
Adding a hard g or k after it ('singer' → 'sin-ger', 'thing' → 'think') or fronting it to /n/ ('working' → 'workin'). It never starts an English word.
Which spellings make the /ŋ/ sound?
Common spellings include “ng”, “n(k)”, “n(g)” — as in sing /sɪŋ/, thinking /ˈθɪŋkɪŋ/, long /lɒŋ/.
Does /ŋ/ matter for IELTS?
Yes — this is a high-priority sound. Errors here frequently change one word into another, which examiners hear as reduced clarity (the exact Band 6 wording is “mispronunciation … reduces clarity at times”).
Next step
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