pronouncekit

SOUND LESSON

How to pronounce /ŋ/: the ng sound in sing

Raise the back of your tongue and hum for /ŋ/. Learn when ng has no /g/, compare finger with singer and separate sing from sin.

/ŋ/
American English
/ŋ/ · nasal · velar · voiced
British English
/ŋ/ · nasal · velar · voiced
Pronunciation model

Try it in a word

Bring a long song to sing.

Mouth & tongue

Enable JavaScript to view the 3D panda. Pronunciation steps remain available below.

Vocal folds: vibrating

TongueTeethUvula

Simplified human pronunciation. The small uvula hangs from the palate; it is not the vocal folds. The wave indicates voicing.

Voice settings

The mouth starts slightly open. Movement is slowed for observation; the synthetic sound plays once at its original speed. Pause holds the current mouth shape; reset returns to the relaxed position. The panda is a symbolic teaching aid for human pronunciation, not animal anatomy.

What your mouth is doing

The back of the tongue seals the soft palate, as for /k/ and /g/. The soft palate lowers so air flows through the nose. English /ŋ/ never begins a word.

Comparing with Mandarin and Spanish

Spelling ng is the trap. Most word-final ng has no /g/: sing is /sɪŋ/. In the middle of some words, /g/ follows: finger is /ˈfɪŋgər/ in American English. Before /k/, plain n often stands for /ŋ/: bank.

Mandarin final ng and Spanish n before k, as in banco, already use this position. Hold it at the end of sing without adding /g/ or changing it to /n/.

Build the sound, step by step

  1. Say the /k/ position, raising the back of the tongue, then hum with no burst.
  2. Say sing and hold the end for two seconds without releasing.
  3. Compare singer without /g/ and finger with /g/, then say thinking.

What to watch for

  • Adding /g/ to every ng gives sing-g. Check the dictionary reading of each word.
  • Finishing with the tongue tip forward turns thing into thin.

Hear the difference in your own voice

Alternate sin and sing, then ban and bang. Keep the same vowel, and move only the point of closure: the ridge for /n/, the soft palate for /ŋ/.

Compare these sounds

Keep practicing

References & editorial notes

PronounceKit wrote this lesson as practical guidance. The references below describe the sounds; the comparisons with other languages are editorial teaching suggestions. It describes common American and British patterns, not every accent, and it has not been independently reviewed by a pronunciation specialist. The mouth model is a simplified teaching aid, not a validated simulation.

Published 3 November 2026