How to Pronounce ん: Why the Japanese N Changes Sound

ん (katakana ン) is a nasal sound that takes a full beat of its own. Its exact sound depends on what comes next. Before m, b and p, the lips close, so it sounds like m. Before t, d and n, it is a plain n. Before k and g, it is the ng in “sing.” Before a vowel, y or w, it sounds close to a nasal vowel. At the end of a word, the tongue often sits even further back than for ng. You do not need to plan each one: let your mouth get ready for the next sound, and keep ん long enough to fill its beat.

ん is a beat, not just a letter

The Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) module on the mora nasal explains that native speakers hear ん as one full mora, the same length as a kana like さ or ま. さんま (sanma, “Pacific saury”) has three beats, さ・ん・ま, not two. The second TUFS mora nasal module gives ペン (pen, “pen”) as two beats, ペ・ン. If counting beats is still new, the post on remembering how a Japanese word sounds explains morae.

How ん changes before each sound

The TUFS modules describe ん taking the mouth position of the sound after it. Their example words show each case:

Before m, b, p: lips closed

• さんま (sanma), “Pacific saury”
• さんぽ 散歩 (sanpo), “a walk”
• じゅんび 準備 (junbi), “preparation”

Before t, d, n: tongue behind the upper teeth

• みんな (minna), “everyone”
• こんど 今度 (kondo), “next time”
• せんとう 銭湯 (sentou), “public bath”

Before k, g: back of the tongue, like “ng”

• げんき 元気 (genki), “well, energetic”
• おんがく 音楽 (ongaku), “music”
• ぎんこう 銀行 (ginkou), “bank”

Before z, j, r: tongue close to the next sound

• かんじ 漢字 (kanji), “kanji”
• べんり 便利 (benri), “convenient”

Before a vowel, y or w: a nasal vowel

Here the tongue does not close the mouth at all. TUFS describes the sound as close to a nasalized vowel:

• れんあい 恋愛 (ren'ai), “romantic love”
• たんい 単位 (tan'i), “unit; course credit”
• でんわ 電話 (denwa), “telephone”
• ほんや 本屋 (hon'ya), “bookstore”

As advice, keep the tongue tip off the roof of your mouth in these words. If it touches, たんい can start to sound like たに (tani, “valley”).

At the end of a word, and before s or h

TUFS says the tongue often sits further back than for ng here. Its tip: say “un” while drawing in your chin, as if nodding. Examples are ペン (pen), せんせい 先生 (sensei, “teacher”) and ほん 本 (hon, “book”).

Why romaji writes n'

Japan's romaji rules from December 2025, ローマ字のつづり方 (Cabinet notice, PDF), write ん as n in every position: kanpai, Ginza, shinbun (新聞, “newspaper”). The spelling stays n even where the sound is closer to m.

The notice adds an apostrophe when n comes before a vowel or y, to show where the sound breaks. Its examples include tan'i (単位) and sen'in (船員, “crew member”). Without the mark, tani would read as たに. Another pair that turns on it:

• きんえん 禁煙 (kin'en), “no smoking”: き・ん・え・ん, four beats
• きねん 記念 (kinen), “commemoration”: き・ね・ん, three beats

The same mark separates ん + や from にゃ. The post on small ゃ, ゅ and ょ uses ton'ya (問屋) for that case.

You will still see spellings such as Shimbashi, tempura and ramma, with m before b, p or m. The notice lists these as spellings some fields use, does not require them to change at once, and gives its own spellings as Shinbashi, tenpura and ranma.

Practice: one ん, three sounds

Open the Numbers deck in Inku's free browser flashcards. Three cards end in ん: 三 (さん, san, “three”), 四 (よん, yon, “four”; the card also shows し) and 千 (せん, sen, “thousand”). When 三 comes up, say さん on its own, with the back-of-tongue ん. Then, as an extra drill, add a counter and feel the ん move:

• さんにん 三人 (sannin), “three people”: tongue behind the teeth
• さんぼん 三本 (sanbon), “three long objects”: lips closed
• さんこ 三個 (sanko), “three small objects”: back of the tongue

The card's Hear it button uses your device's Japanese voice if it has one. The deck needs no account, and its progress stays in your browser. For more on the counters themselves, see Japanese counters.

Sources

• TUFS Language Modules: Mora Nasal 1 — ん varies with the following consonant: lips closed before m, p, b (さんま); n before t, d, n (みんな); ŋ before k, g (げんき); near the next sound before z and r; ん is one mora (さ・ん・ま). (checked 2026-10-16)
• TUFS Language Modules: Mora Nasal 1, practice — Example words 散歩, 準備, 今度, 銭湯, 音楽, 銀行, 漢字, 便利. (checked 2026-10-16)
• TUFS Language Modules: Mora Nasal 2 — Before vowels, ya and wa columns ん is close to a nasalized vowel (恋愛, 単位, 電話, 本屋); at word end and before sa and ha columns the tongue is often further back; the 'un' nod tip; ペン is two moras. (checked 2026-10-16)
• Cabinet notice: ローマ字のつづり方 (22 December 2025, PDF) — ん is written n (anman, kanpai, Ginza, shinbun); apostrophe before a vowel or y (tan'i, sen'in, en'yuukai, ton'ya); Shimbashi, ramma and tempura listed as spellings used in some fields, with Shinbashi, ranma and tenpura under the notice. (checked 2026-10-16)
• Inku: Free Japanese flashcards — Free browser flashcards with a Numbers deck containing 三 さん san, 四 よん / し yon / shi and 千 せん sen; Hear it uses the device's Japanese voice; no account; progress saved in the browser. (checked 2026-10-16)

Prepared by our editorial team with AI assistance. Product details are checked against the sources below.

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