Pinyin final: "(e)ng1"

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Mouth Mechanics (step-by-step)

1. Start relaxed in the middle of the mouth.
   Let your jaw hang slightly open and keep your lips neutral (not rounded, not smiling).

2. Make a short, central “uh” vowel.
   Your tongue should feel low and relaxed, sitting roughly in the middle of the mouth (not pushed forward like “see”, not pulled back like “saw”).

3. Close into “ng” by lifting the back of the tongue.
   Without changing your lip shape, lift the back of your tongue up to touch the soft back part of the roof of your mouth (the area where the mouth starts to feel “squishy” rather than bony).

4. Let the sound continue through your nose.
   When you make the “ng,” air should flow through the nose, and the mouth is “sealed” at the back by the tongue.

5. Stop cleanly—no extra vowel afterward.
   Finish on the nasal “ng” closure. Don’t release into an extra sound like “-guh” or “-kuh.”

Tone note for (e)ng1: The 1st tone is high and steady, like holding a single musical note without rising or falling.

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English Approximation (how to get close)

English does not have a very common syllable that is exactly “uh + ng” as a standalone unit, but you can get very close with these:

• “sung” — use the “-ung” ending, especially the “uh” + “ng” feeling.
  Match: the nasal ending like the “ng” in sung (but keep your vowel more neutral and not overly “uh/ʌ” or “aw”).

• “hung” — again, focus on the ending.
  Match: the “-ng” closure and nasal resonance.

• “uh…ng” (as in a thinking sound: “uh—ng”) — make a clean uh and then close to ng.
  Match: this is often the closest practical trick for English speakers: isolate uh, then attach ng.

How to modify English to be closer:
When you say sung/hung, many English speakers use a stronger, heavier vowel (often like “uh” with a bit of “aw”). For Mandarin (e)ng, keep it more neutral and centered, and make the ng closure clean and steady.

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Common Mistakes (English speakers)

• Adding a “g” sound: saying “eng” like “eng-guh” or “engg”. In Mandarin it ends as ng only.
• Changing the vowel too much: making it sound like “ang” (too open, like “father”) or like “ing” (too fronted, like “see”).
• Letting the lips round: rounding can accidentally pull the sound toward -ong. Keep lips neutral for eng.
• Not finishing in the nose: if the “ng” is weak, it may sound like en (with an “n” sound) instead of eng.

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Practice Pairs (visualizing the sound)

These English words are approximations; use them to “aim” your mouth, then adjust toward the Mandarin target.

Pinyin (Final: (e)ng1)	English Approximation	What to Copy
eng1	“uh + ng” (as in “uh—ng”)	neutral “uh,” then nasal “ng”
beng1	“bung”	the “-ung” ending (avoid a final “g” release)
feng1	“hung” (replace h→f)	vowel + “ng” closure, lips neutral
deng1	“dung” (lightly said)	short central vowel + “ng”
teng1	“tongue” (only the “tung” idea)	start with t-, end with “ng”
geng1	“gung” (hard g)	central vowel + “ng” closure
heng1	“hung” (replace h with a breathy h)	keep vowel centered, end in “ng”
zheng1	“jung” (approx.)	“-ung” ending; keep final as “ng”
cheng1	“chung”	“-ung” ending; avoid “chung-guh”
sheng1	“shung” (approx.)	“sh-” + centered vowel + “ng”
reng1	“rung”	“-ung” ending; keep it smooth and nasal
zeng1	“sung” (approx.)	“-ung” ending; keep vowel neutral
ceng1	“tsung” (approx.)	“-ung” ending; clean nasal finish
seng1	“sung”	steady “ng” closure, no extra vowel

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Comparisons & Caveats (similar Mandarin sounds)

A) eng vs en

• en ends with n: the tongue tip goes up near the front/top of the mouth to close.
• eng ends with ng: the back of the tongue lifts to close.

Quick test: If the closure feels forward (near the teeth ridge area), you’re drifting toward en. If the closure feels deep/back with nasal airflow, you’re in eng.

B) eng vs ang

• ang has a much more open, “ah” vowel quality before the nasal.
• eng starts from a neutral, centered vowel.

Fix: If it sounds too wide/open like “ah”, narrow it to a relaxed “uh” feeling.

C) eng vs ing

• ing starts from a front “ee”-like vowel quality (tongue higher and more forward).
• eng is central and more relaxed.

Fix: If your tongue feels high and forward (like “see”), lower and relax it.

D) Watch the spelling patterns: -eng, -ing, -ong

• -eng (central vowel + ng): eng1, beng1, feng1, deng1, teng1, keng1, heng1, zheng1, cheng1, sheng1, reng1, zeng1, ceng1, seng1, peng1, meng1, geng1, weng1
• -ing (front vowel + ng): ying1, bing1, ping1, ding1, ting1, ling1, jing1, qing1, xing1
• -ong / -iong / -ong-like (rounded/back vowel + ng): dong1, tong1, long1, gong1, kong1, zhong1, chong1, zong1, cong1, song1, hong1, yong1, jiong1, qiong1, xiong1

Key takeaway: The ng ending is consistent, but the vowel before it changes the mouth shape:

• -eng: lips neutral, tongue central
• -ing: tongue forward/high
• -ong/-iong: lips more rounded, tongue more back

Master the central “uh” + clean nasal “ng” for (e)ng1, and the rest become much easier to separate by feel.