Producing /ŋ/

How to produce /ŋ/

Raise the back of your tongue to the soft palate — the /k/ and /ɡ/ position — and hum through your nose. Do not release a /ɡ/ after it: 'sing' is /sɪŋ/, not 'sing-g'. Common L2 errors: an extra /ɡ/ or /k/ at the end, and plain /n/ instead (sing → sin). /ŋ/ never starts an English word.

Practice the sound in isolation

Say 'sing' slowly. Hold the target sound. Record yourself — does it match your mental model of the native version?

A few varied words

• Before /k/: think, bank, pink
• Between vowels: singer, ringing, hanger
• End of the word: sing, long, ring