The /ŋ/ as in SING /ŋ/

One of the most common consonants in American English. Hear it in ring, song, long, sing.

IPA /ŋ/ Respell ng Category Consonant
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The /ŋ/ sound, the sing consonant, is a nasal made entirely in the back of the mouth, used in words like ring, song, and young. Stretch the back of your tongue all the way up to touch the soft roof of your mouth and let the air flow out through your nose. Unlike a regular /n/ where the tip touches behind your front teeth, the /ŋ/ keeps the tongue tip down and relaxed. And it's one continuous sound, not two: in casual American speech there's no hard /g/ click at the end.

How to make it

Three small adjustments.

Get them right and the sound takes care of itself.

Lift the back of your tongue to the soft palate. Lower your soft palate to let air flow through your nose.

Mouth position for /ŋ/ in ring

Mouth shape

/ŋ/ as in ring

Tongue

The back part stretches all the way up to the soft palate. The tongue tip stays down and forward.

Lips

Relaxed, parted.

Jaw

Drops a little bit.

Quick tips

A few things to remember.

One of only three nasal sounds in American English (M, N, NG).

Can occur in the middle or at the end of a word in American English, but never at the beginning.

Inside a word, it gets tricky: 'singer' has no G sound, but 'finger' has a hard G (/ŋg/). A useful rule: if the word comes from a verb (sing -> singer), drop the G. If it doesn't (finger, hunger), pronounce the G.

Hear it in words

16 everyday words.

Tap any word for its full breakdown — every reduction, every flap-T.

sing
SIHNG
ring
RIHNG
song
SAHNG
king
KIHNG
spring
SPRIHNG
swing
SWIHNG
bring
BRIHNG
strong
STRAHNG
wrong
RAHNG
young
YUHNG
things
THIHNGZ
thank
THANGK
hang
HANG
string
STRIHNG
drinks
DRIHNGKS
rang
RANG
Hear it in sentences

In real conversation.

5 short sentences where this sound shows up. Tap to play; click the title for the full breakdown.

The king was singing a long song.

dhuh KIHNG wuhz SIHNG·uhng uh lahng SAHNG.

The wedding ring was missing during the spring.

dhuh WEH·duhng RIHNG wuhz MIH·suhng DUUR·uhng dhuh SPRIHNG.

Bring the strong string to hang the swing.

BRIHNG dhuh STRAHNG STRIHNG tuh HANG dhuh SWIHNG.

Thank you for bringing the drinks.

THANGK yoo fer BRIHNG·uhng dhuh DRIHNGKS.

The feeling of belonging is strong among them.

dhuh FEE·luhng uhv buh·LAHNG·uhng ihz STRAHNG uh·MUHNG dhuhm.
Where this sound transforms

Connected-speech rules involving /ŋ/.

Each rule has its own page with examples and practice tips.

Rule 09

Cat-Vowel Before NG

Vowel changes to sound like /eɪ/ ("ay" as in "say").
FAQ

Common questions about /ŋ/.

What is the difference between the N and NG sounds?
The main difference is which part of the tongue does the work. For a regular N, the tip of your tongue taps the bumpy ridge right behind your top front teeth. For the NG /ŋ/ sound, the tip stays down, resting near your bottom teeth, while the very back of your tongue stretches up to block the air at the soft palate. Both send air through your nose, but the NG traps that air much further back in your throat.
Should I pronounce a hard G at the end of words like "sing"?
No, there is no hard G sound at the end of sing or ring in standard American English. The letters "ng" represent one single nasal sound, not an N followed by a G. If you release the back of your tongue too sharply, you'll accidentally add a little G click, making it sound like sing-guh. To fix this, hold the tongue block for a second, let the sound fade out through your nose, and then softly drop your tongue.
Why do Americans drop the G in words ending with "-ing"?
Americans aren't really dropping a /g/, they're swapping the back-of-the-mouth /ŋ/ for a front-of-the-mouth /n/. In casual conversation it's incredibly common to change the -ing ending to -in, turning running into runnin' and doing into doin'. The /n/ takes less effort and keeps the rhythm of the sentence moving. It's everyday American speech. You'll still hear the full /ŋ/ in formal or scripted situations, but in conversation, -in wins.

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