When is ą like om and when like on?

Before labials p/b — [om] (dąb, trąba). Before t/d/c/dz/cz/dż — [on] (sąd, błąd). Before k/g — [oŋ] (mąka).

How is ą different from om?

ą is one nasal vowel (or its opened neighbour variant). om is two sounds: “o” + “m”. Wąs and wam sound different.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce ą — nasal “o”

IPA[ɔ̃ ~ om/on/oń/oŋ]

ą is a nasal “o”, but inside a word it often opens by neighbour: before p/b → [om] (kąpać), before t/d/c/dz/cz → [on] (kąt, błąd), before ć/dź → [oń] (bądź), before k/g → [oŋ] as in bank (mąka, łąka). Before fricatives and word-finally — nasal [ǫ].

Typical mistake

Reading ą everywhere as “an” or everywhere as “on”. In mąka you get “manka” instead of [moŋka]; in włączać the wrong “włanczać” instead of [włonczać].

How to make the sound

01Look at the consonant right after ą and choose om / on / oń / oŋ / nasal ǫ.
02For [oŋ], raise the back of the tongue as in English bank — not the tip behind the teeth.
03Practice: kąpać, trąba, kąt, błąd, bądź, łąka, mąka, gąska.

Practice words

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

kąpać
to bathe
[kompać] — to bathe
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kąt
corner
[kont] — corner / angle
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bądź
be!
[bońć] — be (imperative)
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łąka
meadow
[łoŋka] — meadow
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Questions

When is ą like om and when like on?: Before labials p/b — [om] (dąb, trąba). Before t/d/c/dz/cz/dż — [on] (sąd, błąd). Before k/g — [oŋ] (mąka).
How is ą different from om?: ą is one nasal vowel (or its opened neighbour variant). om is two sounds: “o” + “m”. Wąs and wam sound different.

Check ą out loud

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