Like "ny" or "ni" in the following English words:
- Canyon
- Onion
- Companion
Examples:
The IPA sound [ɲ] is known as the "palatal nasal" sound. It is pronounced by raising the middle part of your tongue toward the hard palate, which is the bony part of the roof of your mouth. The air passes through the nose while the tongue stays in this position.
To practice pronouncing [ɲ], you can start by saying the English word "canyon" and pay attention to how your tongue touches the middle part of your palate, creating a narrow passage for the air to pass through your nose. In Brazilian Portuguese, the [ɲ] sound is also produced in a similar way.
It's important to note that the [ɲ] sound is actually a result of the combination of the nasal consonant "n" and the palatal glide /j/ or /i/ that follows it.