IELTS Pronunciation Practice: The ng sound /ŋ/

Technique

How to say it

1
Raise the back of your tongue to touch your soft palate, completely sealing off the oral cavity.
2
Lower your velum so the vocal air resonates continuously through your nasal cavity.
3
Engage your vocal cords to generate voicing without letting your tongue release into a hard /ɡ/ or /k/ burst.
4
Keep your tongue tip resting gently behind your lower front teeth throughout the entire sound.

7 pairs

Minimal pairs

Say each pair aloud. If the two words sound the same when you record yourself, slow down and go back to the steps above.

thin/thing
sin/sing
ran/rang
win/wing
ban/bang
ton/tongue
sun/sung

12 sentences

Practice lines from IELTS-style answers

1
I have been thinking about living abroad in Hong Kong for quite a long time.
/ŋ/ in thinking, living, Hong Kong, long
2
Working in marketing requires strong communication skills and planning ahead.
/ŋ/ in working, marketing, strong, planning
3
During spring, I enjoy walking among the flowering trees every morning.
/ŋ/ in spring, walking, among, flowering, morning
4
Going cycling along the river helps me unwind after a tiring day.
/ŋ/ in going, cycling, along, tiring
5
Nothing is more relaxing than sitting in my flat listening to young musicians.
/ŋ/ in nothing, relaxing, sitting, listening, young
6
She had a strong feeling that something was going wrong with the project.
/ŋ/ in strong, feeling, something, going, wrong
7
Learning a new language is challenging, but brings lifelong benefits.
/ŋ/ in learning, challenging, brings, lifelong
8
I spent the morning cleaning my room and organising everything neatly.
/ŋ/ in morning, cleaning, organising, everything
9
Public transport is running smoothly, making commuting far less stressful.
/ŋ/ in running, making, commuting
10
Reading interesting travel books keeps me dreaming of backpacking overseas.
/ŋ/ in reading, interesting, dreaming, backpacking
11
He kept talking about fixing the heating without doing anything useful.
/ŋ/ in talking, fixing, heating, doing, anything
12
Shopping for local clothing is a fantastic way of supporting small businesses.
/ŋ/ in shopping, clothing, supporting

Say it in a real answer

Record an IELTS Speaking answer and get a Pronunciation band from the AI examiner, with the exact words that were hard to understand.

Watch out

Common mistakes

→Releasing a distinct hard /ɡ/ or /k/ sound at the end of words like 'sing' or 'thing'.
→Substituting the alveolar nasal /n/ for /ŋ/, making words like 'running' sound like 'runnin'.
→Failing to sustain the nasal airflow, which causes preceding vowels to sound abruptly clipped.

In the exam: Ensure you pronounce /ŋ/ cleanly on continuous verb endings when describing routines or past experiences, avoiding both a dropped /n/ and an exaggerated /ɡ/ click.

Frequently asked questions

How much does pronunciation count in IELTS Speaking?+

A quarter of your Speaking band. Examiners judge how easy you are to understand and how well you use features like stress, rhythm and intonation, not whether you sound British or American.

Do I need a native accent for Band 8?+

No. An accent is fine at every band. What matters is that individual sounds are clear, stress falls on the right syllables and your intonation helps the listener follow you.

How should I practise these lines?+

Read each line slowly, then at natural speed, then record yourself and compare. Say the sentences in a real answer next, because examiners hear your pronunciation while you think, not while you read.

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The ng sound /ŋ/ (sing, thinking)

How to say it

Minimal pairs

Practice lines from IELTS-style answers

Common mistakes

Frequently asked questions

More consonant sounds practice