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Pronunciation

How to pronounce ą — nasal “o”

The letter ą is a nasal “o”. Not “an”, not “am”, not “on”. Air flows through the mouth and nose at once — that’s the colour Poles hear instantly.

ą

Typical mistake

ą is often read as “an” or swallowed entirely. In mąka you get “manka” instead of a nasal “monka” — and the meaning shifts.

How to make the sound

  1. 01Start from “o”, but don’t open the mouth fully.
  2. 02Gently raise the soft palate so some air goes through the nose.
  3. 03Round the lips slightly. Keep the sound short, without a stressed “n” at the end.
  4. 04Compare: mąka (flour) and maka (not a word) — the only difference is nasality.

Practice words

  • mąka

    flour

  • wątroba

    liver

  • ząb

    tooth

  • piątek

    Friday

Questions

How is ą different from om?
ą is one nasal vowel. om is “o” + “m”, two sounds. Wąs (moustache) and wam (to you) sound different.

See also

Next — topical phrases: Phrases

Check ą out loud

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How to pronounce ą — nasal “o” | MiAcento