# Voiced palatal nasal

The voiced palatal nasal is a type of consonant used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɲ⟩, a lowercase letter n with a leftward-pointing tail protruding from the bottom of the left stem of the letter. The equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is J. The IPA symbol ⟨ɲ⟩ is visually similar to ⟨ɳ ⟩, the symbol for the retroflex nasal, which has a rightward-pointing hook extending from the bottom of the right stem, and to ⟨ŋ⟩, the symbol for the velar nasal, which has a leftward-pointing hook extending from the bottom of the right stem.
The IPA symbol derives from ⟨n⟩ and ⟨j⟩, ⟨n⟩ for nasality and ⟨j⟩ denoting palatalization. In Spanish and languages whose writing systems are influenced by Spanish orthography, it is represented by the letter ⟨ñ⟩, called eñe. In French and Italian orthographies the sound is represented by the digraph ⟨gn⟩. Occitan uses the digraph ⟨nh⟩, the source of the same Portuguese digraph called ene-agá (lit. 'en-aitch'), used thereafter by languages whose writing systems are influenced by Portuguese orthography, such as Vietnamese. In Catalan, Hungarian, Aragonese and many African languages, as Swahili or Dinka, the digraph ⟨ny⟩ is used. In Albanian and some countries that used to be Yugoslavia, the digraph (Nj) is used, and sometimes, for the languages with the Cyrillic script that used to be part of Yugoslavia, uses the (Њњ) Cyrillic ligature that might be part of the official alphabet. In Czech and Slovak, /ɲ/ is represented by letter ⟨ň⟩ whilst Kashubian and Polish use ⟨ń⟩. In Bengali it is represented by the letter ⟨ঞ⟩.
The voiced alveolo-palatal nasal is a type of consonantal sound, used in some oral languages. There is no dedicated symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound. If more precision is desired, it may be transcribed ⟨n̠ʲ⟩ or ⟨ɲ̟⟩; these are essentially equivalent, since the contact includes both the blade and body (but not the tip) of the tongue. There is a non-IPA letter, U+0235 ȵ LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH CURL; ⟨ȵ⟩ (⟨n⟩, plus the curl found in the symbols for alveolo-palatal sibilant fricatives ⟨ɕ, ʑ⟩), which is used especially in Sinological circles.
The alveolo-palatal nasal is commonly described as palatal; it is often unclear whether a language has a true palatal or not. Many languages claimed to have a palatal nasal, such as Portuguese, actually have an alveolo-palatal nasal. This is likely true of several of the languages listed here. Some dialects of Irish as well as some non-standard dialects of Malayalam are reported to contrast alveolo-palatal and palatal nasals.
There is also a post-palatal nasal (also called pre-velar, fronted velar etc.) in some languages. Palatal nasals are more common than the palatal stops [c, ɟ].

## Features

Features of the voiced palatal nasal:
* Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Because the consonant is also nasal, the blocked airflow is redirected through the nose.
* Its place of articulation is palatal, which means it is articulated with the middle or back part of the tongue raised to the hard palate.
* Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
* It is a nasal consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the nose, either exclusively (nasal stops) or in addition to through the mouth.
* It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
* Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

## Occurrence
### Palatal or alveolo-palatal

| Language | Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes |
| !Kung | !Kung | | — | — | Represented by ⟨ny⟩ |
| Albanian | Albanian | një | [ɲə] | 'one' | |
| Amharic | Amharic | ዘጠኝ / zäṭäňň | [zɛtʼɛɲ] | 'nine' |
| Aragonese | Aragonese | chunyo | [ˈt͡ʃu.ɲo] | 'June' | |
| Aranda | Aranda | | — | — | Alveolo-palatal and dento-alveolo-palatal. |
| Asturian | Asturian | cabaña | [kaˈβaɲa] | 'hut' | See Asturian phonology |
| Basque | Basque | andereño | [än̪d̪e̞ɾe̞ɲo̞] | 'female teacher' | |
| Bengali | Bengali | মিঞা / miña | [miɲɑ] | 'mister' | |
| Bulgarian | Bulgarian | синьо | [siˈɲo] | 'blue' | Only occurs before ь, ю, and я. See Bulgarian phonology |
| Burmese | Burmese | ညာ / nya | [ɲà] | 'right(-hand side)' | Contrasts with the voiceless palatal nasal /ɲ̥/. |
| Catalan | Catalan | any | [ˈaɲ̟] | 'year' | Alveolo-palatal or palatal. See Catalan phonology |
| Czech | Czech | kůň | [kuːɲ] | 'horse' | May be intermediate between palatal and alveolo-palatal. See Czech phonology |
| Dinka | Dinka | nyɔt | [ɲɔt] | 'very' | |
| Dutch | Dutch | oranje | [oˈrɑɲə] | 'orange' | Not all dialects. See Dutch phonology |
| English | Malay dialect | canyon | [kɛɲən] | 'canyon' | Common in Malay, allophone of /nj/. |
| French | French | oignon | | 'onion' | See French phonology |
| Galician | Galician | viño | [ˈbiɲo] | 'wine' | See Galician phonology |
| Greek | Greek | πρωτοχρονιά / prōtochroniá | [pro̞to̞xro̞ˈɲ̟ɐ] | 'New Year's Day' | Alveolo-palatal. See Modern Greek phonology |
| Haketia | Haketia | | [ru.ħa.ˈɲi] | 'spiritual' | In free variation with [n] when immediately before [i]. |
| Hindustani | Hindi | पञ्छी/पंछी/pañchī | [pəɲ.t͡ʃʰiː] | 'bird' | Usually written in Urdu with [n], and usually with anuswar in Devanagari, written here with the dead consonant to demonstrate proper spelling. See Hindustani phonology |
| Hindustani | Urdu | پنچھی / pañchī | [pəɲ.t͡ʃʰiː] | 'bird' | Usually written in Urdu with [n], and usually with anuswar in Devanagari, written here with the dead consonant to demonstrate proper spelling. See Hindustani phonology |
| Hungarian | Hungarian | anya | [ˈɒɲɒ] | 'mother' | Alveolo-palatal with alveolar contact. See Hungarian phonology |
| Italian | Standard | bagno | [ˈbäɲːo] | 'bath' | Postalveolo-prepalatal. See Italian phonology |
| Italian | Romanesco dialect | niente | [ˈɲːɛn̪t̪e] | 'nothing' | Postalveolo-prepalatal. See Italian phonology |
| Irish | Irish | inné | [əˈn̠ʲeː] | 'yesterday' | Irish contrasts alveolo-palatal /n̠ʲ/, palatal/palatovelar /ɲ/, velar /ŋ/ and, in some dialects, palatalized alveolar /nʲ/. See Irish phonology |
| Japanese | Japanese | 庭 / niwa | [ɲ̟iɰᵝa̠] | 'garden' | Alveolar or dento-alveolar. See Japanese phonology |
| Khasi | Khasi | bseiñ | [bsɛɲ] | 'snake' | |
| Khmer | Khmer | ពេញ / pénh | [pɨɲ] | 'full' | See Khmer phonology |
| Korean | Korean | 저녁 / jeonyeok | [t͡ɕʌɲ̟ʌk̚] | 'evening' | Alveolo-palatal. See Korean phonology |
| Kurdish | Southern | یانزه / yanze | [jäːɲzˠa] | 'eleven' | See Kurdish phonology |
| Latvian | Latvian | mākoņains | [maːkuɔɲains] | 'cloudy' | See Latvian phonology |
| Macedonian | Macedonian | чешање / češanje | [ˈt͡ʃɛʃaɲɛ] | 'itching' | See Macedonian phonology |
| Malagasy | Malagasy | | — | — | Palatal. |
| Malay | Malay | banyak / باڽـق | [bäɲäʔ] | 'a lot' | Does not occur as a syllable-final coda. Allophone of /n/ before /t͡ʃ/ and /d͡ʒ/ so /punt͡ʃak/ 'peak' is read as [puɲt͡ʃäʔ], not *[punt͡ʃäʔ]. See Malay phonology |
| Malayalam | Malayalam | ഞാൻ / ڿٰانْ / ñān | [ɲäːn] | 'I' | |
| Mandarin | Sichuanese | 女人 / ȵü$^3$ ren$^2$ | [nʲy˨˩˦ zən˧˥] | ‘women’ | Alveolo-palatal |
| Mapudungun | Mapudungun | ñachi | [ɲɜˈt͡ʃɪ] | 'spiced blood' | |
| North Frisian | Mooring | fliinj | [ˈfliːɲ] | 'to fly' | |
| Norwegian | Northern | mann | [mɑɲː] | 'man' | See Norwegian phonology |
| Norwegian | Southern | mann | [mɑɲː] | 'man' | See Norwegian phonology |
| Occitan | Northern | Polonha | [puˈluɲo̞] | 'Poland' | Simultaneous alveolo-palatal and dento-alveolar or dento-alveolo-palatal. See Occitan phonology |
| Occitan | Southern | Polonha | [puˈluɲo̞] | 'Poland' | Simultaneous alveolo-palatal and dento-alveolar or dento-alveolo-palatal. See Occitan phonology |
| Occitan | Gascon | banh | [baɲ] | 'bath' | Simultaneous alveolo-palatal and dento-alveolar or dento-alveolo-palatal. See Occitan phonology |
| Polish | Polish | koń | | 'horse' | Alveolo-palatal. May be replaced by a nasal palatal approximant in coda position or before fricatives. See Polish phonology |
| Portuguese | Many dialects | Sônia | [ˈsõ̞n̠ʲɐ] | 'Sonia' | Possible realization of post-stressed /ni/ plus vowel. |
| Portuguese | Brazilian | sonhar | [sõ̞ˈɲaɾ] | 'to dream' | Central palatal, not the same that /ʎ/ which is pre-palatal. May instead be approximant in Brazil and Africa. May be pronounced [soj̃'ŋ̚ja(ɹ)]. See Portuguese phonology |
| Portuguese | European | arranhar | | 'to scratch' | Dento-alveolo-palatal. |
| Quechua | Quechua | ñuqa | [ˈɲɔqɑ] | 'I' | |
| Romanian | Transylvanian dialects | câine | [ˈkɨɲe̞] | 'dog' | Alveolo-palatal. corresponds to [n] in standard Romanian. See Romanian phonology |
| Sanskrit | Sanskrit | यज्ञ / yajña | [ˈjɐd͡ʑ.ɲɐ] | 'Sacrifice' | See Sanskrit phonology |
| Scottish Gaelic | Scottish Gaelic | seinn | [ʃein̪ʲ] | 'sing' | Dento-alveolo-palatal. See Scottish Gaelic phonology |
| Serbo-Croatian | Serbo-Croatian | њој / njoj / | [ɲ̟ȏ̞j] | 'to her' | Alveolo-palatal. See Serbo-Croatian phonology |
| Sinhala | Sinhala | ස්පාඤ්ඤය / spāññaya | [spaːɲɲəjə] | 'Spain' | |
| Slovak | Slovak | pečeň | [ˈpɛ̝t͡ʂɛ̝ɲ̟] | 'liver' | Alveolar. See Slovak phonology |
| Slovene | Some speakers, archaic | konj | [ˈkɔ̂nʲ] | 'horse' | See Slovene phonology |
| Spanish | Spanish | español | [e̞späˈɲol] | 'Spanish' | Simultaneous alveolo-palatal and dento-alveolar or dento-alveolo-palatal. See Spanish phonology |
| Swahili | Swahili | nyama /نْيَامَ | [ɲɑmɑ] | 'meat' | |
| Tamil | Tamil | ஞாயிறு / نَايِرُ / ñāyiru | [ɲaːjiru] | 'Sunday' | Alveolo-palatal. See Tamil phonology |
| Toki Pona | Some speakers | linja | [ˈliɲ.(j)a] | 'line' | |
| Tyap | Tyap | nyam | [ɲam] | 'animal' | |
| Ukrainian | Ukrainian | тінь / tin' | [t̪ʲin̠ʲ] | 'shadow' | Alveolo-palatal. See Ukrainian phonology |
| West Frisian | West Frisian | njonken | [ˈɲoŋkən] | 'next to' | Phonemically /nj/. See West Frisian phonology |
| Vietnamese | Hanoi | nhanh / 𨗜 | [ȵajŋ̟˧] | 'agile, to run fast, vivacious' | "Laminoalveolar". See Vietnamese phonology |
| Vietnamese | Ha Tinh | nhanh / 𨗜 | [ɲɛɲ˧˥˧] | 'agile, to run fast, vivacious' | |
| Wolof | Wolof | ñaan / ݧَانْ | | | |
| Wu | Shanghainese | 女人 / nyú nyǐnh | [n̠ʲy˩˧ n̠ʲɪɲ˥˨] | 'women' | Alveolo-palatal |
| Wu | Changzhounese | 你 / nyi | [ȵi] | ’you' | Alveolo-palatal |
| Yi | Yi | ꑌ / nyi | [n̠ʲi˧] | 'sit' | Alveolo-palatal. |
| Zulu | Zulu | inyoni | [iɲ̟óːni] | 'bird' | Alveolo-palatal. |

### Post-palatal

| Language | Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes |
| German | Standard | gängig | [ˈɡ̟ɛŋ̟ɪç] | 'common' | Allophone of /ŋ/ before and after front vowels; the example also illustrates [ɡ̟]. See Standard German phonology |
| Lithuanian | Lithuanian | menkė | [ˈmʲæŋ̟k̟eː] | 'cod' | Allophone of /n/ before palatalized velars; typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ŋʲ⟩. See Lithuanian phonology |
| Mapudungun | Mapudungun | dañe | [ˈθɐɲe̞] | 'nest' | |
| Polish | Polish | węgiel | [ˈvɛŋ̟ɡ̟ʲɛl] | 'coal' | Allophone of /n/ before /kʲ, ɡʲ/. See Polish phonology |
| Romanian | Romanian | anchetă | [äŋ̟ˈk̟e̞t̪ə] | 'inquiry' | Allophone of /n/ used before the palatalized allophones of /k, ɡ/. Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨ŋʲ⟩. See Romanian phonology |
| Turkish | Turkish | renk | [ˈɾeɲk] | 'color' | Allophone of /n/ before /k/ and /g/. See Turkish phonology |
| Uzbek | Uzbek | ming | [miŋ̟] | 'thousand' | Word-final allophone of /ŋ/ after front vowels. |
| Vietnamese | Hanoi | nhanh / 𨗜 | [ȵajŋ̟˧˧] | 'agile, to run fast, vivacious' | Final allophone of /ɲ/. See Vietnamese phonology |
| Yanyuwa | Yanyuwa | lhuwanyngu | [l̪uwaŋ̟u] | 'strip of turtle fat' | Post-palatal; contrasts with post-velar [ŋ̠]. |