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Letter

How to pronounce Polish letter «ń» [ɲ]

ń

IPA[ɲ]

Soft ń [ɲ] — a palatal nasal, like Spanish ñ or the “ny” in canyon/onion — short, without a long “y”. Before a vowel it is often spelled ni (niebo).

How to shape the sound

A mid-tongue nasal [ɲ], close to Spanish ñ or the “ny” in canyon: the middle of the tongue moves toward the hard palate.

Common trap

East Slavic speakers usually find this easy: a similar soft nasal exists in their native language, so there is little to relearn here.

How to fix it

Just avoid turning ń into a hard dental n: dzień, koń, słońce, pani.

Practice words

Pick a teacher — the word plays in their voice · Mirosław

  • słoń

    elephant

    Focus on pronunciation «ń»

    ListenPractice
  • koń

    horse

    Focus on pronunciation «ń»

    ListenPractice
  • dzień

    day

    Focus on pronunciation «ń»

    ListenPractice
How to pronounce Polish letter «ń» [ɲ] | Jak Polak