Voiced dental and alveolar nasals

Voiced postalveolar nasal
Voiced postalveolar nasal
n̠
Audio sample
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Voiced dental nasal
Voiced dental nasal
n̪
IPA Number	116 408
Audio sample
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Encoding
Entity (decimal)	n̪
Unicode (hex)	U+006E U+032A
X-SAMPA	n_d
Braille
Image

Voiced alveolar nasal
Voiced alveolar nasal
n
IPA Number	116
Audio sample
	source · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	n
Unicode (hex)	U+006E
X-SAMPA	n
Image

The voiced alveolar nasal is a type of consonant. Nearly all languages contain this sound. The letter for this sound in the International Phonetic Alphabet is ⟨n⟩. The X-SAMPA symbol for this sound is ⟨n⟩. The English language has this sound, and it is the sound represented by "n" in near and number.

Features

The airstream mechanism is pulmonic. This means that this sound is produced by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.
The phonation is voiced. This means that the vocal cords vibrate while the sound is being pronounced.
The place of articulation (where the sound is produced) is alveolar. This means that this sound is produced with the tip of the tongue (apical) or the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge (laminal).
It is a nasal consonant. This means that air is allowed to escape through the nose, either exclusively (nasal stops) or in addition to through the mouth.

Examples

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning
Adyghe		нэфнэ/nėfnė	[nafna]	'light'
Arabic	Standard	نور/nūr	[nuːr]	'light'
Assyrian		ܢܘܪܐ nōra	[noːɾaː]	'mirror'
Basque		ni	[ni]	'I'
Bengali		নাক/naak/nāk	[naːk]	'nose'
Catalan		neu	[ˈneʊ̯]	'snow'
Chinese	Mandarin	難/nán	[nan˧˥]	'difficult'
Czech		na	[na]	'on'
Dutch		nacht	[nɑxt]	'night'
English		nice	[naɪs]	'nice'
Finnish		annan	[ˈɑnːɑn]	'I give'
Georgian		კანი/k'ani	[ˈkʼɑni]	'skin'
Greek		νάμα/náma	[ˈnama]	'communion wine
Gujarati		નહી/nahi	[nəhi]	'no'
Hawaiian		naka	[naka]	'to shake'
Hebrew		נבון/navon	[navon]	'wise'
Italian		nano	[ˈnäːno]	'dwarf'
Irish		binn	[bʲiːnʲ]	'peak'
Japanese		反対/hantai	[hantai]	'opposite'
Khmer		នគរ nôkôr	[nɔkɔː]	'kingdom'
Korean		나라/nara	[nɐɾɐ]	'Country'
Kurdish	Northern	giyanewer	[ˈgʲɪjä:ˈnɛwɛˈɾ]	'animal'
	Central	گیانلەبەر/gîyânlabar	[ˈgʲiːäːnˈlæbæˈɾ]
	Southern	گیانلەبەر/gîyânlabar	[ˈgʲiːäːnˈlabaˈɾ]
Kyrgyz		банан/banan	[baˈnan]	'banana'
Malay		nasi	[näsi]	'cooked rice'
Malayalam		കന്നി/kanni	[kənni]	'virgin'
Maltese		lenbuba	[lenbuˈba]	'truncheon'
Mapudungun		müna	[mɘ̝ˈnɐ̝]	'enough'
Ngwe	Mmockngie dialect	[nøɣə̀]		'sun'
Nepali		नक्कल/nakkal	[nʌkːʌl]	'imitation'
Odia		ନାକ/nāka	[näkɔ]	'nose'
Persian		نون/nun	[nun]	'bread'
Pirahã		gíxai	[níˈʔàì̯]	'you'
Polish		poncz	[ˈpɔn̥t͡ʂ]	'punch'
Punjabi		ਨੱਕ/nakk	[nəkː]	'nose'
Slovak		na	[nä]	'on'
Slovene		novice	[nɔˈʋìːt̪͡s̪ɛ]	'news'
Spanish		nada	[ˈnäð̞ä]	'nothing'
Swahili		ndizi	[n̩dizi]	'banana'
Tagalog		nipis	[nipis]	'thin'
Thai		นอน/non	[nɔːn]	'sleep'
Turkish		neden	[ne̞d̪æn]	'reason'
Tamil		மனசு/manasu	[mʌnʌsɯ]	'mind', 'heart'
Vietnamese		bạn đi	[ɓanˀ˧˨ʔ ɗi]	'you're going'
Welsh		nain	[nain]	'grandmother'
Western Apache		non	[nòn]	'cache'
West Frisian		nekke	[ˈnɛkə]	'neck'
Yi		ꆅ/na	[na˧ ]	'hurt'
Zapotec	Tilquiapan	nanɨɨ	[nanɨˀɨ]	'lady'

Dental

A voiced dental nasal is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. It is potentially in English, as in month.

Features

The phonation is voiced. This means that the vocal cords vibrate while the sound is being pronounced.
The place of articulation (where the sound is produced) is dental. This means that this sound is produced with the tongue at the upper teeth, the lower teeth, or both the upper teeth and the lower teeth. (Many stops and liquids that are called dental consonants are actually denti-alveolar consonants.)
It is a nasal consonant. This means that air is allowed to escape through the nose, either exclusively (nasal stops) or in addition to through the mouth.

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Belarusian		новы/novy	[ˈn̪ovɨ]	'new'	Laminal denti-alveolar. Contrasts with palatalized form. See Belarusian phonology
Bulgarian		жена/žena	[ʒɛˈn̪a]	'woman'	Laminal denti-alveolar.
Catalan	General	cantar	[kən̪ˈt̪ä]	'to sing'	Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d/. See Catalan phonology
Catalan	Central, North-Western	punt	[ˈpun̪]	'point'	Laminal denti-alveolar. Word-final realisation of /nt/ in dialects of Catalonia; Valencian retains [nt].
Chuvash		шăна/šăna	[ʃɒn̪a]	'a fly'
Dutch	Belgian	nicht	[n̻ɪxt̻]	'niece'	Laminal denti-alveolar, sometimes simply alveolar. See Dutch phonology
English		month	[mʌn̪θ]	'month'	Interdental. Allophone of /n/ before /θ, ð/.
Esperanto		Esperanto	[espeˈran̪t̪o]	'one who hopes'	See Esperanto phonology
Finnish		ranta	[ˈran̪t̪a]	'beach'	Allophone of /n/ before /t̪/.
French		connexion	[kɔn̻ɛksjɔ̃]	'connection'	Laminal denti-alveolar, sometimes simply alveolar. See French phonology
Greek		άνθος/ánthos	[ˈɐn̪θo̞s]	'flower'	Interdental. Allophone of /n/. See Modern Greek phonology
Hindustani	Hindi	नया/najā	[n̪əjaː]	'new'	See Hindi–Urdu phonology
Hindustani	Urdu	نیا/najā	[n̪əjaː]	'new'	See Hindi–Urdu phonology
Hmong	White Hmong	𖬒𖬲𖬬/noj	[no˥˨]	'eat'
Hungarian		nagyi	[ˈn̪ɒɟi]	'grandma'	Laminal denti-alveolar. See Hungarian phonology
Italian		cantare	[kän̪ˈt̪äːre]	'to sing'	Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d, s, z, t͡s, d͡z/. See Italian phonology
Irish		naoi	[n̪ˠɰiː]	'nine'	Velarized.
Japanese		涙/namida	[n̪ämʲid̪ä]	'tear'	Laminal denti-alveolar. See Japanese phonology
Kashubian		naprësk	[n̪aprəsk]	'shower'	Laminal denti-alveolar.
Kazakh		көрінді/körindi/ٴكورىندى	[kœɾɪn̪d̪ɪ]	'it seemed'	Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d/.
Kyrgyz		беделинде/bedelinde	[be̞d̪e̞lin̪d̪e̞]	'in the authority'	Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d/.
Latvian		nakts	[n̪äkt̪s̪]	'night'	Laminal denti-alveolar. See Latvian phonology
Macedonian		нос/nos	[n̪o̞s̪]	'nose'	Laminal denti-alveolar. See Macedonian phonology
Malayalam		നായ/nāya	[n̪aːjɐ]^ⓘ	'dog'	Interdental for some speakers. See Malayalam phonology
Mapudungun		müṉa	[mɘ̝ˈn̪ɐ̝]	'male cousin on father's side'	Interdental.
Marathi		नख/nakh	[n̪əkʰ]	'fingernail'	See Marathi phonology
Nepali		सुगन्ध	[suˈɡʌn̪d̪ʱʌ]	'fraɡrance'	Allophone of /n/ in neighbourhood of /t̪, t̪ʰ, d̪, d̪ʱ/.
Polish		nos	[n̪ɔs̪]	'nose'	Laminal denti-alveolar. Alveolar before /t͡ʂ, d͡ʐ/. See Polish phonology
Portuguese	General	narina	[n̻ɐˈɾin̻ɐ]^ⓘ	'nostril'	Laminal denti-alveolar. May nasalize preceding vowel (especially if stressed). Has [ɲ̟] as allophone, forming from clusters with [j], and before /i/.
Portuguese	Vernacular Paulista	percebendo	[pe̞ʁse̞ˈbẽn̻u]	'perceiving'	Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /d/ after a stressed nasal vowel in more stigmatized varieties. See Portuguese phonology
Romanian		alună	[äˈl̪un̪ə]	'hazelnut'	Laminal denti-alveolar. See Romanian phonology
Russian		наш/naš	[n̪aʂ]	'our'	Laminal denti-alveolar, contrasts with palatalized form. See Russian phonology
Scottish Gaelic		nàdar	[ˈn̪ˠaːt̪aɾ]	'nature'	Velarized. Contrasts with alveolar /n/ and palatal /ɲ/.
Serbo-Croatian		студент/student	[s̪t̪ǔd̪e̞n̪t̪]	'student'	Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d, s, z, t͡s/. See Serbo-Croatian phonology
Slovene		prevarant	[pɾeʋaˈɾǎːn̪t̪]	'con artist'	Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d, s, z, t͡s/. See Slovene phonology
Spanish	Most dialects	cantar	[kän̪ˈt̪är]	'to sing'	Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /n/ before /t, d/. See Spanish phonology
Swahili	Bajuni dialect	paṉa/pan̪a/pan’a	[pan̪a]	'rat'	Dental. Orthography is variable.
Tamil		நாடு/nāḍu	[n̪ɑːɖɯ]	'country'	See Tamil phonology
Telugu		నములుట/namuluṭa	[n̪amuluʈa]	'To chew'	Occurs as an allophone of anuswara when followed by dental stops.
Ukrainian		наш/nash	[n̪ɑʃ]	'our'	Laminal denti-alveolar, contrasts with palatalized form. See Ukrainian phonology
Uzbek		нимa/nima/نىمه	[n̪imæ]	'what'	Laminal denti-alveolar.

Postalveolar

A voiced postalveolar nasal is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. It is not in English.

Notes

↑ Carbonell & Llisterri (1992), p. 53.
↑ Gussenhoven (1992), p. 45.
↑ Shosted & Chikovani (2006), p. 255.
↑ Ladefoged (2005), p. 139.
↑ Rogers & d'Arcangeli (2004), p. 117.
↑ Okada (1999), p. 117.
↑ Kara (2003), p. 11.
↑ Ladefoged (2005), p. 165.
1 2 3 Sadowsky et al. (2013), pp. 88–89.
1 2 Rocławski (1976), p. 136.
↑ Pretnar & Tokarz (1980), p. 21.
↑ Martínez-Celdrán, Fernández-Planas & Carrera-Sabaté (2003), p. 255.
↑ Thompson (1959), pp. 458–461.
↑ Merrill (2008), p. 108.
↑ Padluzhny (1989), pp. 49–50.
↑ Klagstad (1958), p. 46.
1 2 Rafel (1999), p. 14.
1 2 Herrick (2000), p. 70.
↑ Suomi, Toivanen & Ylitalo (2008), p. 29.
↑ Fougeron & Smith (1993), p. 73.
↑ Arvaniti (2007), p. 15.
↑ Siptár & Törkenczy (2000), pp. 75–76.
1 2 Bertinetto & Loporcaro (2005), p. 133.
1 2 3 Canepari (1992), p. 58.
↑ Jerzy Treder. "Fonetyka i fonologia". Rastko.net. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
↑ Nau (1998), p. 6.
↑ Lunt (1952), p. 1.
↑ Cruz-Ferreira (1995), p. 91.
↑ Barbosa & Albano (2004), p. 230.
↑ (in Portuguese) Unesp's digital collection – The deleting of /d/ in the morpheme of the gerund in São José do Rio Preto's accent Archived 2012-12-31 at Archive.today
↑ (in Portuguese) The deletting of /d/ in the morpheme of the gerund in São José do Rio Preto's accent – PDF
↑ Chițoran (2001), p. 10.
↑ Borgstrøm (1937), p. 115.
↑ Swaleh, Rukiya (2024). "The structure of Bajuni language". In Njogu, Kimani; Omar, Athman Lali (eds.). Bajuni land, language and orature (PDF). Twaweza Communications Ltd. pp. 115–146. ISBN 978-9966-128-24-9.
↑ Njogu, Kimani (2024). "Mohamed Kombo: The Bajuni Spoken Word Artist". In Njogu, Kimani; Omar, Athman Lali (eds.). Bajuni land, language and orature (PDF). Twaweza Communications Ltd. pp. 45–75. ISBN 978-9966-128-24-9.
↑ Danyenko & Vakulenko (1995), p. 10.
↑ Sjoberg (1963), p. 12.

References

Carbonell, Joan F.; Llisterri, Joaquim (1992), "Catalan", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 22 (1–2): 53–56, doi:10.1017/S0025100300004618, S2CID 249411809
Gussenhoven, Carlos (1992), "Dutch", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 22 (2): 45–47, doi:10.1017/S002510030000459X, S2CID 243772965
Shosted, Ryan K.; Chikovani, Vakhtang (2006), "Standard Georgian" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 36 (2): 255–264, doi:10.1017/S0025100306002659
Ladefoged, Peter (2005), Vowels and Consonants (Second ed.), Blackwell
Rogers, Derek; d'Arcangeli, Luciana (2004), "Italian", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34 (1): 117–121, doi:10.1017/S0025100304001628
Okada, Hideo (1999), "Japanese", in International Phonetic Association (ed.), Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge University Press, pp. 117–119, ISBN 978-0-52163751-0
Kara, Dávid Somfai (2003), Kyrgyz, Lincom Europa, ISBN 978-3895868436
Sadowsky, Scott; Painequeo, Héctor; Salamanca, Gastón; Avelino, Heriberto (2013), "Mapudungun", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 43 (1): 87–96, doi:10.1017/S0025100312000369
Rocławski, Bronisław (1976), Zarys fonologii, fonetyki, fonotaktyki i fonostatystyki współczesnego języka polskiego, Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Uczelniane Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego
Pretnar, Tone; Tokarz, Emil (1980), Slovenščina za Poljake: Kurs podstawowy języka słoweńskiego, Katowice: Uniwersytet Śląski
Martínez-Celdrán, Eugenio; Fernández-Planas, Ana Ma.; Carrera-Sabaté, Josefina (2003), "Castilian Spanish", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 33 (2): 255–259, doi:10.1017/S0025100303001373
Thompson, Laurence (1959), "Saigon phonemics", Language, 35 (3): 454–476, doi:10.2307/411232, JSTOR 411232
Merrill, Elizabeth (2008), "Tilquiapan Zapotec" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 38 (1): 107–114, doi:10.1017/S0025100308003344, archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-12-16, retrieved 2022-02-10

[FOOTNOTECarbonellLlisterri199253-1] Carbonell & Llisterri (1992), p. 53.

[FOOTNOTEGussenhoven199245-2] Gussenhoven (1992), p. 45.

[FOOTNOTEShostedChikovani2006255-3] Shosted & Chikovani (2006), p. 255.

[FOOTNOTELadefoged2005139-4] Ladefoged (2005), p. 139.

[FOOTNOTERogersd'Arcangeli2004117-5] Rogers & d'Arcangeli (2004), p. 117.

[FOOTNOTEOkada1999117-6] Okada (1999), p. 117.

[FOOTNOTEKara200311-7] Kara (2003), p. 11.

[FOOTNOTELadefoged2005165-8] Ladefoged (2005), p. 165.

[FOOTNOTESadowskyPainequeoSalamancaAvelino201388–89-9] 1 2 3 Sadowsky et al. (2013), pp. 88–89.

[FOOTNOTERocławski1976136-10] 1 2 Rocławski (1976), p. 136.

[FOOTNOTEPretnarTokarz198021-11] Pretnar & Tokarz (1980), p. 21.

[FOOTNOTEMartínez-CeldránFernández-PlanasCarrera-Sabaté2003255-12] Martínez-Celdrán, Fernández-Planas & Carrera-Sabaté (2003), p. 255.

[FOOTNOTEThompson1959458–461-13] Thompson (1959), pp. 458–461.

[FOOTNOTEMerrill2008108-14] Merrill (2008), p. 108.

[FOOTNOTEPadluzhny198949–50-15] Padluzhny (1989), pp. 49–50.

[FOOTNOTEKlagstad195846-16] Klagstad (1958), p. 46.

[FOOTNOTERafel199914-17] 1 2 Rafel (1999), p. 14.

[FOOTNOTEHerrick200070-18] 1 2 Herrick (2000), p. 70.

[FOOTNOTESuomiToivanenYlitalo200829-19] Suomi, Toivanen & Ylitalo (2008), p. 29.

[FOOTNOTEFougeronSmith199373-20] Fougeron & Smith (1993), p. 73.

[FOOTNOTEArvaniti200715-21] Arvaniti (2007), p. 15.

[FOOTNOTESiptárTörkenczy200075–76-22] Siptár & Törkenczy (2000), pp. 75–76.

[FOOTNOTEBertinettoLoporcaro2005133-23] 1 2 Bertinetto & Loporcaro (2005), p. 133.

[FOOTNOTECanepari199258-24] 1 2 3 Canepari (1992), p. 58.

[fonetyka-25] Jerzy Treder. "Fonetyka i fonologia". Rastko.net. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.

[FOOTNOTENau19986-26] Nau (1998), p. 6.

[FOOTNOTELunt19521-27] Lunt (1952), p. 1.

[FOOTNOTECruz-Ferreira199591-28] Cruz-Ferreira (1995), p. 91.

[FOOTNOTEBarbosaAlbano2004230-29] Barbosa & Albano (2004), p. 230.

[acervo-30] (in Portuguese) Unesp's digital collection – The deleting of /d/ in the morpheme of the gerund in São José do Rio Preto's accent Archived 2012-12-31 at Archive.today

[athena-31] (in Portuguese) The deletting of /d/ in the morpheme of the gerund in São José do Rio Preto's accent – PDF

[FOOTNOTEChițoran200110-32] Chițoran (2001), p. 10.

[FOOTNOTEBorgstrøm1937115-33] Borgstrøm (1937), p. 115.

[bajuni_structure-34] Swaleh, Rukiya (2024). "The structure of Bajuni language". In Njogu, Kimani; Omar, Athman Lali (eds.). Bajuni land, language and orature (PDF). Twaweza Communications Ltd. pp. 115–146. ISBN 978-9966-128-24-9.

[bajuni_lang-35] Njogu, Kimani (2024). "Mohamed Kombo: The Bajuni Spoken Word Artist". In Njogu, Kimani; Omar, Athman Lali (eds.). Bajuni land, language and orature (PDF). Twaweza Communications Ltd. pp. 45–75. ISBN 978-9966-128-24-9.

[FOOTNOTEDanyenkoVakulenko199510-36] Danyenko & Vakulenko (1995), p. 10.

[FOOTNOTESjoberg196312-37] Sjoberg (1963), p. 12.