# Voiced velar nasal

The voiced velar nasal, also known as eng, engma, or agma (from Greek ἆγμα ‹See RfD› âgma 'fragment'), is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. It is the sound of ng in English sing as well as n before velar consonants as in English and ink. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ŋ⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is N. The IPA symbol ⟨ŋ⟩ is 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 ⟨ɲ⟩, the symbol for the palatal nasal, which has a leftward-pointing hook extending from the bottom of the left stem.
While almost all languages have /m/ and /n/ as phonemes, /ŋ/ is rarer. Half of the 469 languages surveyed in Anderson (2008) had a velar nasal phoneme; as a further curiosity, many of them limit its occurrence to the syllable coda. The velar nasal does not occur in many of the languages of the Americas, the Middle East, or the Caucasus, but it is extremely common among Australian Aboriginal languages, languages of Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asian and Southeast Asian languages, and Polynesian languages. In many languages that do not have the velar nasal as a phoneme, such as the Romance languages, it occurs as an allophone of /n/ before velar consonants. This kind of assimilation can even be found in languages with phonemic voiced velar nasals, such as English. An example of this phenomenon is the word income; its underlying representation, /ˈɪnˌkʌm/, can be realized as either [ˈɪnˌkʌm] or [ˈɪŋˌkʌm].
An example of a language that lacks a phonemic or allophonic velar nasal is Russian, in which /n/ is pronounced as laminal denti-alveolar [n̪] even before velar consonants.
Some languages have the pre-velar nasal, which is articulated slightly more front compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical velar nasal, though not as front as the prototypical palatal nasal - see that article for more information.
Conversely, some languages have the post-velar nasal, which is articulated slightly behind the place of articulation of a prototypical velar nasal, though not as back as the prototypical uvular nasal.

## Features

Features of the voiced velar 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 velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft 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

| Language | Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes |
| Albanian | Albanian | ngaqë | [ŋɡacə] | 'because' | |
| Aleut | Aleut | chaang/ча̄ӈ | [tʃɑːŋ] | 'five' | |
| Arabic | Hejazi | مــنــقل/‹See RfD› mingal | [mɪŋɡal] | 'brazier' | Allophone of /n/ before velar stops. See Hejazi Arabic phonology |
| Armenian | Eastern | ընկեր/‹See RfD› ënker | [əŋˈkɛɾ] | 'friend' | Allophone of /n/ before velar consonants |
| Assamese | Assamese | ৰং/‹See RfD› ŗông | [ɹɔŋ] | 'color' | |
| Asturian | Asturian | non | [nõŋ] | 'no' | Allophone of /n/ in word-final position, either before consonants other than velar stops or vowel-beginning words or before a pause. |
| Bambara | Bambara | ŋonI | [ŋoni] | 'guitar' | |
| Bashkir | Bashkir | мең / ‹See RfD› meñ | | 'one thousand' | |
| Basque | Basque | hanka | [haŋka] | 'leg' | |
| Bengali | Bengali | রঙ/‹See RfD› rông | [ɾɔŋ] | 'color' | |
| Bulgarian | Bulgarian | тънко/‹See RfD› tănko | [ˈtɤŋko] | 'thin' | |
| Burmese | Burmese | ငရုတ် | [ŋə joʊʔ] | 'chilli' | |
| Cantonese | Cantonese | 昂/‹See RfD› ngòhng | [ŋɔːŋ˩] | 'raise' | See Cantonese phonology |
| Catalan | Catalan | sang | [ˈsaŋ(k)] | 'blood' | See Catalan phonology |
| Cebuano | Cebuano | ngano | [ˈŋano] | 'why' | |
| Chamorro | Chamorro | ngånga' | [ŋɑŋaʔ] | 'duck' | |
| Chukchi | Chukchi | ӈыроӄ/‹See RfD› ṇyroq | [ŋəɹoq] | 'three' | |
| Czech | Czech | tank | [taŋk] | 'tank' | See Czech phonology |
| Dinka | Dinka | ŋa | [ŋa] | 'who' | |
| Danish | Danish | sang | [sɑŋˀ] | 'song' | See Danish phonology |
| Dutch | Dutch | angst | [ɑŋst] | 'fear' | See Dutch phonology |
| Eastern Min | Eastern Min | 疑/‹See RfD› ngì | [ŋi$^{53}$] | 'suspect' | |
| English | English | sing | | 'sing' | Restricted to the syllable coda. See English phonology |
| Faroese | Faroese | ong | [ɔŋk] | 'meadow' | |
| Fijian | Fijian | gone | [ˈŋone] | 'child' | |
| Finnish | Finnish | kangas | [ˈkɑŋːɑs] | 'cloth' | Occurs in native vocabulary only intervocally (as a geminate) and before /k/. See Finnish phonology |
| French | Standard | camping | | 'camping' | Occurs only in words borrowed from English or Chinese. See French phonology |
| French | Southern France | pain | | 'bread' | For many speakers, [ŋ] acts as a substitute for the nasalization of the preceding vowel, which may still be partially nasal. It is one of the most typical traits of varieties of French influenced by an Occitan substrate. |
| Galician | Galician | unha | [ˈuŋa] | 'one' (f.) | |
| Gan | Gan | 牙/‹See RfD› nga | [ŋa] | 'tooth' | |
| German | German | lang | [laŋ] | 'long' | See Standard German phonology |
| Greek | Greek | άγχος / anchos | ['aŋxo̞s] | 'Stress' | See Modern Greek phonology |
| Hakka | Sixian | 我/‹See RfD› ngô | [ŋai˨˦] | 'I' | |
| Hebrew | Standard | אנגלית/‹See RfD› anglit | [aŋɡˈlit] | 'English language' | Allophone of /n/ before velar stops. See Modern Hebrew phonology |
| Hebrew | Sephardi | עין/‹See RfD› nayin | [ŋaˈjin] | 'Ayin' | See Sephardi Hebrew |
| Hiligaynon | Hiligaynon | buang | [bu'äŋ] | 'crazy/mentally unstable' | |
| Hindustani | Hindi | रंग/रङ्ग/‹See RfD› raṅg | [rəŋg] | 'color' | See Hindustani phonology |
| Hindustani | Urdu | رن٘گ/‹See RfD› raṅg | [rəŋg] | 'color' | See Hindustani phonology |
| Hindustani | Fiji Hindustani | Rang | [rəŋg] | 'color' | See Hindustani phonology |
| Ho | Ho | maraṅ | [maraŋ] | 'big' | |
| Hungarian | Hungarian | ing | [iŋɡ] | 'shirt' | Allophone of /n/ before /g/. See Hungarian phonology |
| Icelandic | Icelandic | göng | [ˈkœy̯ŋk] | 'tunnel' | See Icelandic phonology |
| Ilocano | Ilocano | ngalngal | [ŋalŋal] | 'to chew' | |
| Inuktitut | Inuktitut | ᐴᙳᐆᖅ / ‹See RfD› puunnguuq | [puːŋŋuːq] | 'dog' | |
| Inuvialuktun | Inuvialuktun | qamnguiyuaq | [qamŋuijuaq] | 'snores' | |
| Irish | Irish | a nglór | [ˌə̃ ˈŋl̪ˠoːɾˠ] | 'their voice' | Occurs word-initially as a result of the consonantal mutation eclipsis. See Irish phonology |
| Italian | Italian | anche | [ˈaŋke] | 'also' | Allophone of /n/ before /k/ and /ɡ/. See Italian phonology |
| Itelmen | Itelmen | қниң | [qniŋ] | 'one' | |
| Japanese | Standard | 南極 / ‹See RfD› nankyoku | [naŋkʲokɯ] | 'the South Pole' | See Japanese phonology |
| Japanese | Eastern dialects | 鍵 / kagi | [kaŋi] | 'key' | See Japanese phonology |
| Javanese | Javanese | sengak | [səŋak] | stink | Additional /ŋ/ caused by vowel after /ŋ/ sounding |
| Jin | Yuci | 我/‹See RfD› ngie | [ŋie] | 'I' | |
| Kagayanen | Kagayanen | manang | [manaŋ] | 'older sister' | |
| Karelian | Karelian | ongi | [ˈoŋɡi] | 'fishing rod' | Occurs only before /g/, /k/ and /kk/. |
| Karen | Eastern Pwo | ငယ်ငဝ် | [ŋɛ̀ ŋɔ̀] | 'enter into a heated argument' | |
| Karen | Western Pwo | ငါငီၩငါစၪ | [ŋâ ŋɔ́ ŋâ sà] | 'stupid; not very intelligent' | |
| Kazakh | Kazakh | мың / myń | [məŋ] | 'thousand' | |
| Kyrgyz | Kyrgyz | миң/miñ | [miŋ] | 'thousand' | |
| Ket | Ket | аяң/‹See RfD› ajaņ | [ajaŋ] | 'to damn' | |
| Khasi | Khasi | ngap | [ŋap] | 'honey' | |
| Khmer | Khmer | ងាយ / ngéayកសាង / kâsang | [ŋiəj][kɑːsaːŋ] | 'easy''to build' | See Khmer phonology |
| Korean | Korean | 성에 / ‹See RfD› seonge | [sʌŋe] | 'window frost' | See Korean phonology |
| Kurdish | Northern | ceng | [dʒɛŋ] | 'war' | See Kurdish phonology |
| Kurdish | Central | جه‌نگ/ceng | [dʒɛŋ] | 'war' | See Kurdish phonology |
| Kurdish | Southern | جه‌نگ/ceng | [dʒɛŋ] | 'war' | See Kurdish phonology |
| Luganda | Luganda | ŋaaŋa | [ŋɑːŋɑ] | 'hornbill' | |
| Luxembourgish | Luxembourgish | keng | [kʰæŋ] | 'nobody' | See Luxembourgish phonology |
| Macedonian | Macedonian | aнглиски/‹See RfD› angliski | [ˈaŋɡliski] | 'English' | Occurs occasionally as an allophone of /n/ before /k/ and /ɡ/. See Macedonian phonology |
| Malay | Malaysian and Indonesian | bangun | [ˈbaŋʊn] | 'wake up' | |
| Malay | Kelantan-Pattani | sini | [si.niŋ] | 'here' | See Kelantan-Pattani Malay |
| Malay | Terengganu | ayam | [a.jaŋ] | 'chicken' | See Terengganu Malay |
| Malayalam | Malayalam | മാങ്ങ/mān̄n̄a | [maːŋŋɐ] | 'mango' | |
| Mandarin | Standard | 北京/Běijīng | [peɪ˨˩tɕiŋ˥] | 'Beijing' | Restricted to the syllable coda. See Mandarin phonology |
| Mandarin | Sichuanese | 我/ngo$^3$ | [ŋɔ˨˩] | 'I' | |
| Marathi | Marathi | रंग/ranga | [rəŋə] | 'colour' | See Marathi phonology |
| Mari | Mari | еҥ/eng | [jeŋ] | 'human' | |
| Minangkabau | Minangkabau | mangarasau | [mäŋäräsäu̯] | 'nonsense' | |
| Mongolian | Mongolian | тэнгэр / teŋger | [teŋger] | 'sky' | |
| Nepali | Nepali | नङ/nang | [nʌŋ] | 'nail' | See Nepali phonology |
| Nganasan | Nganasan | ӈаӈ/ngang | [ŋaŋ] | 'mouth' | |
| Nivkh | Nivkh | ңамг/ngamg | [ŋamɡ] | 'seven' | |
| North Frisian | Mooring | kåchelng | [ˈkɔxəlŋ] | 'stove' | |
| Northern Min | Northern Min | 外/ngui | [ŋui] | 'outside' | |
| Northern Sámi | Eastern Finnmark | maŋis | [mɒːŋiːs] | 'behind' | |
| Northern Sámi | Western Finnmark | máŋga | [mɑːŋˑka] | 'many' | [ŋ] has merged with [ɲ] in Western Finnmark, except before velar stops. |
| Norwegian | Norwegian | gang | [ɡɑŋ] | 'hallway' | See Norwegian phonology |
| Odia | Odia | ଏବଂ/ebang | [ebɔŋ] | 'and' | |
| Okinawan | Okinawan | nkai | [ŋkai] | 'to' | Allophone of [n] before velars, before consonants in an onset cluster, and also word-finally in some dialects. |
| Ottoman Turkish | Ottoman Turkish | یڭی/yeŋi | | 'new' | |
| Panjabi | Gurmukhi | ਰੰਗ/rang | [rəŋ] | 'color' | |
| Panjabi | Shahmukhi | رنگ/rang | [rəŋ] | 'color' | |
| Persian | Iranian Persian | رنگ/rang | [ræŋg] | 'color' | Allophone of /n/ before velar plosives. See Persian phonology |
| Pipil | Pipil | nemanha | [nemaŋa] | 'later' | |
| Polish | Polish | bank | [bäŋk] | 'bank' | Allophone of /n/ before /k, ɡ, x/; post-palatal before /kʲ, ɡʲ/. See Polish phonology |
| Portuguese | Portuguese | manga | [ˈmɐ̃(ŋ)ɡɐ] | 'mango' | Occurs occasionally in slow, careful speech, as an allophone of /n/ before /ɡ/ and /k/, when the speaker does not delete the /n/ by fusing it with the preceding vowel. |
| Occitan | Provençal | vin | [viŋ] | 'wine' | |
| Rapanui | Rapanui | hanga | [haŋa] | 'bay' | Sometimes written ⟨g⟩ in Rapanui |
| Romanian | Țara Moților Transylvanian | câine | ['kɨŋi] | 'dog' | Corresponds to /n/ before vowels and consoants except /k/ and /g/. Allophone of /n/ before /k/ and /g/. Both of them are in Standard Romanian. See Romanian phonology |
| Samoan | Samoan | gagana | [ŋaˈŋana] | 'language' | |
| Serbo-Croatian | Serbo-Croatian | stanka / станка | [stâːŋka] | 'pause' | Allophone of /n/ before /k, ɡ, x/. See Serbo-Croatian phonology |
| Seri | Seri | comcáac | [koŋˈkaak] | 'Seri people' | |
| Shona | Shona | n'anga | [ŋaŋɡa] | 'traditional healer' | |
| Slovene | Slovene | tank | [ˈt̪âːŋk] | 'tank' | |
| Southern Min | Hokkien | 黃/n̂g | [ŋ̍˨˦] | 'yellow' | |
| Southern Min | Teochew | 黃/ng$^5$ | [ŋ̍$^{55}$] | 'yellow' | |
| Spanish | All dialects | domingo | [d̪o̞ˈmĩŋɡo̞] | 'Sunday' | Allophone of /n/ before velar consonants. See Spanish phonology |
| Spanish | Galician Spanish, Andalusian, Canarian, Andean, and most Caribbean dialects | alquitrán | [alkiˈtɾaŋ] | 'tar' | Allophone of /n/ in word-final position regardless of what follows. |
| Swahili | Swahili | ng'ombe | [ŋombɛ] | 'cow' | |
| Swedish | Standard | ingenting | [ɪŋɛnˈtʰɪŋ] | 'nothing' | See Swedish phonology |
| Swedish | Southern Västerbotten | ngiv | [ˈŋiːv] | 'knife' |
| Tagalog | Tagalog | ngayón | [ŋaˈjon] | 'now' | |
| Tamil | Tamil | இங்கே/in̄gē | [iŋgeː] | 'here' |
| Telugu | Telugu | వాఙ్మయం | [ʋaːŋmajam] | 'Literature' | Allophone of anuswara when followed by velar stop |
| Tibetan | Standard | ང/nga | [ŋa˩˧] | 'I' | |
| Thai | Thai | งาน/ngaan | [ŋaːn] | 'work' | |
| Nuer - Thok Nath | Nuer - Thok Nath | ŋa | [ŋa] | 'who?' or 'Is who?' | |
| Tongan | Tongan | tangata | [taŋata] | 'man' | |
| Tuamotuan | Tuamotuan | rangi / ragi | [raŋi] | 'sky' | |
| Tundra Nenets | Tundra Nenets | ӈэва/ŋəwa | [ŋæewa] | 'head' | |
| Tupi | Tupi | monhang | [mɔɲaŋ] | 'to make' | See Tupian Phonology |
| Turkmen | Turkmen | müň | [myŋ] | 'thousand' | |
| Tyap | Tyap | nɡɡwon | [ŋɡʷən] | 'child' | |
| Uzbek | Uzbek | ming | [miŋ] | 'thousand' | |
| Venetian | Venetian | man | [maŋ] | 'hand' | |
| Vietnamese | Vietnamese | ngà | [ŋaː˨˩] | 'ivory' | See Vietnamese phonology |
| Welsh | Welsh | rhwng | [r̥ʊŋ] | 'between' | |
| West Frisian | West Frisian | kening | [ˈkeːnɪŋ] | 'king' | |
| Wu | Wu | 五/ng | [ŋ˩˧] | 'five' | |
| Xhosa | Xhosa | ing'ang'ane | [iŋaŋaːne] | 'hadada ibis' | |
| Xiang | Xiang | 熬/ngau | [ŋau] | 'to boil' | |
| Yi | Yi | ꉢ/nga | [ŋa˧] | 'I' | |
| Yup'ik | Yup'ik | ungungssiq | [uŋuŋssiq] | 'animal' | |
| Zapotec | Tilquiapan | yan | [jaŋ] | 'neck' | Word-final allophone of lenis /n/ |