This lesson goes over the differences among N, Ñ, Nw, and Ny in the Igbo alphabet.
N, n
Igbo word example: nkịta (“dog”)
Sounds like:
Saying the letter: nee (or nuh)
Saying the letter in a word: English sound example – no
Ñ, ñ
(Note: The ~ character is called a tilde in English. This letter may also be shown as Ṅ/ṅ (with a dot above the letter N) or ‘N/’n . Sometimes it’s not marked at all.)
Igbo word example: añụ (“bee”)
Sounds like:
Saying the letter: ng-uh (or ng-ee)
Saying it in a word: English sound example – song
Nw, nw
Igbo word example: nwanyọ (“silence or slow”)
Sounds like:
Saying the letter: nw-ee (or nw-eh)
Saying it in a word: Similar to combining n+w sounds
Ny, ny
Igbo word example: nye (“give”)
Sounds like:
Saying the letter: Similar to combining n+y sounds or (ny-ee)
Saying the letter in a word: English sound example – canyon