Pronouncing ん

GOOD NEWS: You made it to the final post of the hiragana section!

The last thing we’re going to talk about is that tricky character ん. Tricky, you say? Oh you didn’t know!? Let’s get into it!

Pronunciation Changes

ん is usually represented by the English letter “n”. It’s one of only 6 Hiragana that can be represented in English by a single letter. Also, just like を there are no Japanese words that start with ん. Quite a unique character, eh?

However, there’s a little secret that Japanese people may not be aware of: Its pronunciation changes depending on the character that comes before it! 😱

Pronounced As M

1) まみむめも Group

2) ばびぶべぼ Group

3) ぱぴぷぺぽ Group

Pronounced As NG

1) かきくけこ Group

2) がぎぐげご Group

Conclusion

There you have it!