Lesson 9: -ing = ん – The Secret You Already Know

Here’s a surprise: if you can say ん in Japanese, you’re already halfway to mastering the English “-ing.”

What’s Happening with -ing?

In English, the ending “-ing” is nasal:

• singing → singin’
• going → goin’
• talking → talkin’

We often drop the “g” completely. So:

• “I’m going.” → “I’m goin’.”
• “She’s talking.” → “She’s talkin’.”

Sound familiar? It should. Because the nasal sound is nearly the same as ん in Japanese!

Japanese Nasals: ん

Japanese uses ん to end words all the time:

• 本 (hon)
• ご飯 (gohan)
• いらっしゃいません (irasshaimasen)

And that ん? It’s made using the back of the tongue. Same position as “singing” in English.

Compare These:

You already have this nasal in your toolset.

Clarifying the Confusion

Japanese has two “n” positions:

• な, に, ぬ, ね, の = tongue on roof of mouth
• ん = back of the tongue (like the “ng” in song)

So:

• “on” (as in “on the table”) uses the same tongue as な
• “song” (as in “sing a song”) uses the same position as ん

Why Do We Spell It with a “g”?

Historically, English used “-ing” with a hard G. But fluent speech found it unnecessary.

Now? Most native speakers say “-in’” unless they’re trying to be formal.

So when someone drops the G:

• It’s not lazy.
• It’s fluent.

Bonus Tip:

If Bugs Bunny were in an English class, a voice therapist would say:
“You don’t need to say ‘talking.’ Just say ‘talkin’—you’re fine.”

So next time you're chatting casually:

• Talkin’
• Dancin’
• Laughin’
• Learnin’

That’s ん-glish. You’ve got this.

—Symeon