Japanese Consonants: How to Pronounce ん

Description of the Japanese Pronunciation ん

The pronunciation of ん varies depending on the following sounds because the place of articulation assimilates the latter consonants. Let's check one by one.

When the Following Sound Is [m] [p] [b] (コンマ、さんぽ、とんぼ).

You pronounce ん as [m].

Picture describing Japanese pronunciation [m]

When you pronounce [m], you are going to close your lips and make a sound by allowing air to pass out through your nose. [m] is a voiced sound.

When the Following Sound Is [k] [g] (てんき、おんがく).

Picture describing Japanese pronunciation [ŋ]

You pronounce ん as [ŋ]. Unlike the sound of [n], you need to touch the back part of your tongue with the back part of the roof of your mouth. Then, you make a sound by allowing air to pass out through your nose.

When ん Is at the End of Utterances (ほん、こうえん).

Picture describing Japanese pronunciation [N]

You pronounce ん as [N]. Unlike any other sounds, you need to touch the root of your tongue with your uvula. Then, you make a sound by allowing air to pass out through your nose.

Elsewhere (みんな、べんとう、もんだい、れんらく)

You pronounce ん as [n].

When you pronounce [n], your tongue is going to touch the roof of your mouth just a little farther back than your upper gums and you will make a sound by allowing air to pass out through your nose. [n] is a voiced sound.

Does it make sense to you? Let's try to pronounce ん after the tutor on the video!

Wasabi Japanese Pronunciation Lessons

Words Exercise with the Pronunciation [m] [ŋ] [N] [n] ん

Please repeat the following words after the tutor on the video.

Words	Roman Letters	Meanings
あんまり	a n ma ri	unreasonable, too much
さんぷん	sa n pu n	three minutes
ぜんぶ	ze n bu	every, all
こんげつ	ko n ge tsu	this month
かんがえる	ka n ga e ru	to think
でんき	de n ki	electricity
みなさん	mi na sa n	everyone, everybody (polite)
たくさん	ta ku sa n	many, a lot of
びょういん	byo u i n	hospital
こんにちは	ko n ni chi wa	good afternoon
洗濯せんたく	se n ta ku	washing, laundering
階段かいだん	ka i da n	stairs

Sentences Exercise with the Pronunciation [m] [ŋ] [N] [n] ん

Please repeat the following sentences after the tutor in the video.

Japanese Sentences	English Translations
みんなで弁当べんとうを交換こうかんしました。	We all exchanged our [box] lunches.
図と書しょ館かんに鉛筆えんぴつを忘わすれました。	I left my pencil in the library.
この音楽おんがくが一番いちばん好すきです。	I like this music the most.

Tongue Twister Exercise with the Pronunciation [m] [ŋ] [N] [n] ん

Please repeat the following tongue twisters after the tutor on the video. Also, please focus on the pronunciation practice, not the meaning, because they were made only for the sake of practice.

Japanese Tongue Twisters	Vocabulary
万まん馬ば券けん三千万さんぜんまんを換金かんきん、万まん馬ば券けん三千万さんぜんまんを換金かんきん	万まん馬ば券けん: betting ticket with a payout of at least 100 times (horse racing)　換金かんきん: to change … into cash
新しん宿雀じゅくじゃん荘そうどう？、新しん宿雀じゅくじゃん荘そうどう？、新しん宿雀じゅくじゃん荘そうどう？	新しん宿じゅく: town’s name　雀じゃん荘そう: mah-jongg parlor
新人しんじん歌か手しゅ新しん春しゅんシャンソンショー	新人しんじん: newcomer　歌か手しゅ: singer　新しん春しゅん: new spring　シャンソン: chanson　ショー: show

Conclusion

This is the how to pronounce [m] [ŋ] [N] [n] ん. We recommend that you practice the sentences above at least 5 times for each exercise, though we understand that pronunciation practice can be dull. Good pronunciation will give you listening and speaking ability, and thereby you will be confident enough to speak Japanese with native speakers. Thus, the ability you gain is well worth the time spent. We are looking forward to seeing you in the next lesson; [kj] [gj] きゃきゅきょ、ぎゃぎゅぎょ.