The ng sound is a single , as at the end of sing, long and thing. The back of your tongue touches the and the air goes through your nose. You do not say a separate g at the end of these words, but a few words in the middle, such as finger, do have /ŋg/.
One sound, not two
The letters ng usually stand for one sound: . It is the last sound in sing, song, thing, long and morning. There is no sound after it. If you say 'sing-g' with a clear g, the word sounds foreign to a British listener, and the extra sound makes your speech less smooth.
The sound is also spelled with n before k, as in think, bank, drink, uncle and anxious. The n is here too, and the k is a separate sound.
- sing · thing
- long · morning
- think · bank
- young · strong
How to make
Say the sound at the back of the mouth. The back of the tongue lifts and touches the , at the same place as for and . The air does not come out of the mouth. It goes through your nose, and your voice is on.
A useful test: say 'sing' and hold the last sound. If the sound can continue through your nose, you are making . Now close your nose with your fingers. The sound should stop. Compare with , as in 'sin': the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the top teeth, and the back of the tongue is down.
- Tongue tip: relaxed, not touching the ridge behind the top teeth.
- Back of the tongue: raised, touching the soft palate.
- Air: through the nose.
- Voice: on.
The rule for adding a g sound
In the middle of a word, the rule depends on the word. In most words that are made from a base word plus an ending, you say only . In some other words, you say and then . Learn the groups.
- Only at the end of a word: sing, thing, long, morning, king.
- Only before an ending like -er, -ing, -ed: singer, singing, hanger, banging.
- /ŋg/ in the middle of a word that is not made with an ending: finger, angry, hungry, English, single, anger.
- /ŋg/ in the comparative and superlative forms of long, strong and young: longer, stronger, youngest.
Common mistakes
The first mistake is saying instead of . Listeners hear 'sin' for sing, 'thin' for thing and 'runnin' for running. This matters most in the -ing ending, which you will use very often: working, studying, living, going.
The second mistake is adding everywhere. You may say 'sing-g', 'morning-g' or 'singer' with a g sound. In British English, singer has no , but finger does.
The third mistake is leaving out the sound and saying a only, so that song sounds like 'saw'. The nasal is part of the word.
How to check yourself
Use three quick tests. First, the nose test: hold your nose while you say sing. The final sound should stop or feel blocked, because the air was going through your nose. If it carries on, the air is leaving through your mouth, so you may be adding a g. Second, the mirror test: for your lips do not move at the end of the word, and your tongue tip does not lift. Third, the recording test: record the phrase 'I'm working and studying' and listen for the endings. Every -ing should end on the same soft sound, with no g and no n.
If you find it hard to stop the g, hold the final sound as a quiet hum through your nose until it ends. This keeps the tongue back and stops the g from forming.
Practice words
Say the pairs in two columns. First the word, then the word: sin and sing, thin and thing, ban and bang, run and rung, win and wing, son and song. Then say each in a sentence: 'Please sing the song.' 'I think it is a good thing.' Finish with the -ing words that you use in IELTS: 'I am studying English, and I enjoy learning new things.'
Watch the end of the -ing words. Keep the back of the tongue up until the sound is finished, and do not let it fall into an or add a .
How to make the sound
- Lift the back of your tongue so it touches the , at the back of your mouth.
- Let the air go through your nose with your voice on, and hold the sound for one count.
- Release the tongue without a : the word ends on the sound alone.
- For finger or angry, release into a clear after the nasal sound.
Who finds this hard?
- Arabic speakers: Standard Arabic does not have as a separate sound, so learners often add a after it (sing-g) or replace it with . Practise ending words on a sound with no release.
- Spanish speakers: In Spanish, a sound like appears only before k or g (as in tengo), so a final ng in English is unfamiliar. Many learners use , saying 'runnin' for running.
- Korean speakers: Korean has at the end of , so the sound itself is usually easy. The work is to say it in the -ing ending and not to add .
IELTS tip
In the Speaking test, the -ing ending appears in almost every answer: living, working, studying, watching, going. If it becomes every time, your speech can sound less clear. Pick a Part 2 answer, underline each -ing word and read it aloud with the back of the tongue up to check the sound.
Frequently asked questions
Do I say the g in sing?
No. In sing, the letters ng stand for one sound, . A separate g sound at the end is a common learner mistake.
Why is there a g in finger but not in singer?
Singer is made from sing plus the ending -er, so it keeps the same . Finger is not made that way, and the word has followed by .
How is the n in think pronounced?
It is pronounced , because the tongue is ready for the k at the back of the mouth. The word has and then .
Does it matter if I say running with n instead of ng?
In casual English, some speakers do say 'runnin', but in IELTS a clear is safer because it is the standard form and is clearer to the listener.
Sources
- Roach, P. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Cruttenden, A. (2014). Gimson's Pronunciation of English (8th ed.). Routledge.