Pronunciation of N

Start first lesson

1. Lesson 1

12 questions

2. Lesson 2

16 questions

3. Lesson 3

12 questions

Explanation

Quick Answer

The letter nin Spanish is pronounced like the letter n in English, for example in words such as night or moon. Compare the sound of the English n in night and moon with the n in their Spanish translations, nocheand luna.

The Sound of the Letter “N”

“N” Is a Consonant

The letter n represents the Spanish consonant sound, or phoneme, /n/. When a consonant sound is uttered, the flow of air out of the mouth is partially or completely blocked at some point.

The name of this letter is pronounced ene.

How to Pronounce "N" in Spanish

The Spanish n is alveolar, which means it is pronounced by placing the tip of the tongue on the gums of the front teeth, just as you would if you were to utter an l. However, the tongue itself also presses against the roof of the mouth, causing the air to come out of the nose instead of the mouth.

Additionally, the vocal cords vibrate when uttering n, so linguists classify it as voiced, or sonorain Spanish. Check out how the n is pronounced in these words: nada(nothing), niño(child), enamorarse(fall in love), enviar(send), enlace(link), and camión(truck).

The pronunciation of the letter n turns from an alveolar sound into a velar sound when n is followed by other velar sounds, such as /g/ inglés, English), /k/ banco, bank), or /x/ granja, farm). Remember that velar sounds are produced by pressing the back of the tongue against the soft palate.

Is the Spanish "N" Similar to the English "N"?

Yes, it’s like the English n in words such as nose, sing, or can.

Spelling Tip: Never Use “N” Before “P” or “B”

The letter n is never used before p or b in Spanish. The letter m is written instead, like in the words campo(field) or cambio(change).

Examples

Let’s look at some examples of words containing the letter n in different word positions and letter combinations.

Spanish	English	Position-Combination
naturaleza	nature	beginning of word + vowel
negocio	business	beginning of word + vowel
nido	nest	beginning of word + vowel
noche	night	beginning of word + vowel
nube	cloud	beginning of word + vowel
cantina	bar	inside word + between vowels
pino	pine tree	inside word + between vowels
sano	healthy	inside word + between vowels
cisne	swan	inside word + beginning of syllable
desnudo	naked	inside word + beginning of syllable
técnico	technical	inside word + beginning of syllable
fantasía	fantasy	inside word + end of syllable
pregunta	question	inside word + end of syllable
transeúnte	passerby	inside word + end of syllable
algodón	cotton	end of word
refrán	saying	end of word
también	too	end of word

One Letter, One Sound

The pronunciation of the letter n varies little throughout the Spanish-speaking world, so there shouldn’t be much difference between the way nana(lullaby) sounds in San Francisco, Guayaquil, or Malabo.