ŋk vs ɡ

Voiceless Velar Stop vs Voiced Velar Stop

How these sounds differ

ŋk

Voiceless Velar Stop

Voicing: voiceless
Place: velar
Manner: stop
Class: consonant
In languages: 8 / 500

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Voiced Velar Stop

Voicing: voiced
Place: velar
Manner: stop
Class: consonant
In languages: 301 / 500

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Cross-linguistic distribution

Languages with ŋk

Languages with both

301

Languages with ɡ

5 languages in our database contrast both sounds as distinct phonemes. Languages that have one but not the other tend to merge them into a single phoneme — meaning speakers of those languages often struggle to hear the distinction when learning a language that contrasts them.

Has ŋk, not ɡ (3)

HMONG Hmong-Mien GELAO Tai-Kadai YANYUWA Pama-Nyungan

Has ɡ, not ŋk (20)

Yuchi Language isolate Salish Salishan Kunimaipa Kunimaipan Telefol Nuclear Trans New Guinea Adzera Austronesian Iai Austronesian Chamorro Austronesian Sa'ban Austronesian Toba-Batak Austronesian Yay Tai-Kadai Garo Sino-Tibetan Lahu Sino-Tibetan Dafla Sino-Tibetan Yao Hmong-Mien Kharia Austroasiatic Bhumij Austroasiatic Kota Dravidian Burushaski Language isolate Lak Nakh-Daghestanian Tunica Language isolate