The Letters mb, nd and ng

Foundations

Mb, nd and ng are single letters that start with a nasal sound and end with an oral one.

How It Works

Think of each letter as one sound with two parts. The air starts through the nose and then moves to the mouth. English has these sounds in the middle of words, such as amber, undoubtedly and angle. Guarani also puts them at the start of words.

LetterLike the sound inGuarani word
mbambermbohapy “three”
ndundoubtedlynde “you”
nganglekangue “bone”

Keep the nasal start very short. In mbohapy there is no pause after the m.

Nasal harmony can change these letters. The piece mbo- becomes mo- in some words, and a k can become ng: karu “to eat” gives mongaru “to feed”. A fourth letter of this kind, nt, is rare.

Examples (5)

  1. mbohapy

    three

    The word starts with mb.

  2. mbarakaja

    cat

    Another word that starts with mb.

  3. ndaipóri

    there is none

    The word starts with nd.

  4. kangue

    bone

    The ng sits in the middle of the word.

  5. mongaru

    to feed

    The ng comes from the k of karu, “to eat”.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

The Letters mb, nd and ngFoundations

Learn This First

These letters use two characters but count as one, and the alphabet explains that first.

Words in This Pattern

nde