The German Consonant Clusters 'ng' and 'nk'
The '-ng' consonant combination is pronounced in a manner that is similar to its English equivalent in words such as 'thing' and 'bring'. Although it is not represented by a single letter of the alphabet, '-ng' constitutes a distinct consonant, and it is described as a velar nasal. This means that it is formed in the soft palate (velum) towards the back of the vocal tract, with the back of the tongue pressed against the velum. It is described as 'nasal' because the sound is expelled through the nasal cavity and not the oral tract.
This sound can cause difficulties for native English speakers because, although English also has the 'ng' consonant, there are two varieties of this in English. There is a noticeable difference in the way that the words 'finger' and 'ringer' are pronounced in English. If you say them to yourself, you will notice that these two words do not quite rhyme. There is an extra 'g' sound in 'finger' (and words such as 'younger', 'longer' and 'hunger') that is not articulated in 'ringer' (and words such as 'singer' and 'longing').
Only one form of the '-ng' consonant sound exists in German however. It does not have the extra /g/ phoneme that we find in 'finger', 'younger', 'longer' and 'hunger', which means that care needs to be taken with the pronunciation of their German equivalents "Finger", "jünger", "länger" and "Hunger".
It is when the '-ng' consonant sound appears in the middle of a word that English speakers need to pay the most attention. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear five German words in which the 'ng' sounds appears in the middle of a word, and compare it to how you might articulate the word in English. The words themselves are supplied in the box below along with an English translation:
Sounds 1: 'ng' in medial position |
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Hunger
(hunger) |
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abhängig
(dependent) |
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singen
(to sing) |
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Finger
(finger) |
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Menge
(amount) |
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Now click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear six German words in which the sound '-ng' occurs in final position. The words themselves are supplied in the box below along with their English translation:
Sounds 2: 'ng' in final position |
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lang
(long) |
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Wohnung
(apartment) |
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Meldung
(announcement) |
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Ring
(ring) |
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Frühling
(spring) |
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streng
(severe) |
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The consonant cluster 'nk'
In the consonant cluster written as "-nk", the sound produced is a combination of the velar nasal "ng" heard at the end of English words such as 'thing' and bring', followed by the phoneme /k/. This is less complicated than it sounds, equating to how we pronounce English words such as 'thin-king. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words in which this sound combination appears in medial position. The words themselves are supplied in the box below along with an English translation:
Sounds 3: The 'nk' consonant cluster in initial position |
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sinken
(to sink) |
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trinken
(to drink) |
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Enkel
(grandchild) |
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Onkel
(uncle) |
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Now click here to listen to a similar set of '-nk' words spoken by a different speaker:
Sounds 4: The 'nk' consonant cluster in initial position |
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trinken
(to drink) |
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danken
(to thank) |
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denken
(to think) |
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Frankreich
(France) |
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This consonant cluster is also heard when 'nk' appears as the end of a word, either on its own or followed by a further consonant. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words in which the letters 'nk' appear in final position in German lexical items.
Sounds 5: The sound 'nk' in final position |
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Punkt
(point) |
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winkt
(waves) |
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sinkt
(sinks) |
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trinkt
(drinks) |
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To distinguish between the German 'nk' and 'ng' sounds, click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear three pairs of words in which the different sounds occur:
Sounds 6: Distinguishing between 'ng' and 'nk' sounds |
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singen
(to sing) |
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sinken
(to sink) |
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Engel
(angel) |
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Enkel
(grandchild) |
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Finger
(finger) |
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Finken
(finches) |
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How to pronounce the German consonant 'p'
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