The German Consonant 'n' 
The German 'n' is a nasal consonant, which means that it is articulated with air escaping through the nose and not the vocal tract. It is articulated in a different position in the mouth to /m/ however, with the tip or blade of the tongue pressed firmly against the alveoli or tooth-ridge, which is the part of the mouth immediately behind the top teeth. This combination of manner and place of aticulation means that the German /n/ is called an alveolar nasal. Note too that your vocal cords vibrate when the consonant is formed, which means that /m/ is a 'voiced/ sound.
 Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear a native speaker say eight German words that begin with the letter 'n'. The words themselves are given in the box below along with an English translation:
 Sounds 1: 'n' in initial position |
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Nacht
(night) |
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Nase
(nose) |
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Nebel
(fog) |
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neu
(new) |
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nicht
(not) |
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niemand
(no-one) |
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noch
(still) |
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Nummer
(number) |
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The German 'n' sound is also used in consonant clusters in which it retains its alveolar nasal sound. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear a native speaker say four German words that begin with the 'schn' consonant cluster. The words themselves are given in the box below along with their English translation:
| Sounds 2: The 'schn' cluster in initial position |
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Schnee
(snow) |
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schnell
(quick) |
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Schneider
(tailor) |
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Schnaps
(schnaps) |
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Now click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words in which the letter 'n' appears in medial position. The words themselves are supplied in the box below along with their English translation:
| Sounds 3: 'n' in medial position |
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Tunnel
(tunnel) |
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genug
(enough) |
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Linie
(line) |
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Miene
(expression) |
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Finally, click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words in which the letter 'n' appears at the end of a word. As before, the words are supplied in the box below along with their English translation:
| Sounds 4: 'n' in final position |
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schön
(beautiful) |
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essen
(to eat) |
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braun
(brown) |
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sein
(his; to be) |
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 How to pronounce German 'ng' + 'nk'
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