ng

Everyday

1. (phonics) The letter pair «ng» that makes one sound, as at the end of sing, ring and long. tree →
2. (abbreviation, informal) «no good», as in «that plan is NG». tree →
3. (abbreviation) A short code for Nigeria (NG) or for «National Guard» or «nanogram» (ng) in science. tree →

In the lessons

In phonics lessons «ng» is a digraph: two letters, one sound, heard in king, song, thing, sing. It is not a word on its own. In text messages and some jobs «NG» means «no good». In science, «ng» is a nanogram, a billionth of a gram.

Examples

• The words sing, ring and bang all end in «ng». tree →
• Can you think of five words with «ng» at the end? tree →
• In «finger» you can hear «ng» followed by a «g» sound. tree →
• The engineer wrote «NG» on the broken part, meaning no good. tree →
• NG is the country code for Nigeria. tree →
• A nanogram, written ng, is a billionth of a gram. tree →

Note

Not an English word on its own. In phonics: «singer» has just the «ng» sound, but «finger» has «ng» plus a hard «g». Some names from other languages begin with Ng (for example Ng, a Chinese surname, or Ngozi, an Igbo name) — these are names.