The Letter ṅ

Foundations

Ṅ sounds like the ng in sing. You will see it in a few words such as ṅụọ “drink”.

How It Works

Ṅ is the 21st letter and is written with a dot above, unlike the dots under ị, ọ and ụ. It makes the sound at the end of English sing, with the back of the tongue lifted.

Examples:

  • ṅụọ “drink” (the command form)
  • ṅụrụ “drank”

This letter is rare in everyday writing. Many writers, and many keyboards, give plain n instead, and some write ñ. The dictionary treats these as the same word, so you can find ṅụọ by typing nuo.

You will not need ṅ often. When it appears, it stands for the same sound.

Examples (3)

  1. ṅụọ

    drink

    The command form begins with ṅ.

  2. ṅụọ mmiri

    drink water

    A short command with a very common noun.

  3. Ọ ṅụrụ mmiri.

    He or she drank water.

    Ṅụrụ is the past form of the same verb.

How It Connects

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

The Letter ṅFoundations

Learn This First

The letter ṅ is one of the 36 letters, so the alphabet comes first.