Letter
How to pronounce Polish letter «ą» [ɔ̃ ~ om/on/oń/oŋ]
ą
IPA[ɔ̃ ~ om/on/oń/oŋ]
The letter ą is not “always on”. Its reading depends on the following consonant: om, on, oń, oŋ, or nasal ǫ.
Reading rules
- before p, b — [om] — kąpać, trąba, dąb
- before t, d, c, dz, cz, dż — [on] — kąt, sąd, błąd
- before ć, dź — [oń] — bądź, wziąć
- before k, g — [oŋ] as n in bank — łąka, mąka, rąk
- before fricatives and word-finally — nasal [ǫ] — gąska, matką
- before l, ł — plain [o] — wziął
How to shape the sound
Not one sound, but a neighbour rule: before p and b — [om] (kąpać → kompać, dąb → domp, trąba → tromba); before t, d, c, dz, cz, dż — [on] (kąt → kont, sąd → sont, błąd → błont, włączać → włonczać — never «włanczać»); before ć and dź — [oń] (bądź → bońć, wziąć → wziońć); before k and g — velar [oŋ] as n in “bank” (rąk → roŋk, mąka → moŋka, łąka → łoŋka); before fricatives s, z, sz, ż, ś, ź, f, w, ch and word-finally — nasal [ǫ] (gąska, matką); before l and ł — plain [o] (wziął).
Common trap
Learners read ą either as plain «o» everywhere or as «on» everywhere, without switching by the following consonant.
How to fix it
Look at the letter right after ą and choose the variant by the rule. Words: kąpać, trąba, kąt, błąd, bądź, łąka, mąka, gąska, matką.
Practice words
Pick a teacher — the word plays in their voice · Mirosław
kąpać
to bathe
Focus on pronunciation «ą»
kąt
corner
Focus on pronunciation «ą»
bądź
be!
Focus on pronunciation «ą»
łąka
meadow
Focus on pronunciation «ą»
gąska
gosling
Focus on pronunciation «ą»