Glued sounds: ank, ink, onk, unk

The n in these is /ŋ/, not /n/. Four rimes, taught whole for the same reason as ang and ing.

Glued and welded sounds

ank / ink / onk / unk GLUED_NK_01

Strong rule · High reliability · Common · Beginner · Reading and spelling

• /æŋk/ /ɪŋk/ /ɒŋk/ /ʌŋk/ vowel + nk: bank, pink, junk

Where Wiggler teaches it: Skill 5: Glued Sounds & Spelling Basics

Child explanation

Say pink slowly. The n sounds like the ng in ring. That is why we learn ank, ink, onk and unk in one piece.

The rule

Ank, ink, onk and unk are taught whole. The n is pronounced /ŋ/ before the k, so the spelling does not match the sounds letter for letter.

What is really going on

Nasal assimilation before a velar stop. The letter n represents /ŋ/, which means a letter-by-letter decoder produces a sound the word does not contain — a good illustration for children of why looking for units matters.

Position in the word

• End of a word — The usual position. For example: bank, pink, honk, junk.

Examples

Easy examples

bank, pink, junk, sink, think

More examples

tank, thank, drank, blank, link, wink, drink, blink, stink, honk, trunk, bunk, skunk, chunk

Pseudo-words

Made-up words that follow the rule. A child who reads these has the pattern rather than the vocabulary.

flank, shink, pronk, blunk

Contrast pairs

• ban versus bank — The n changes sound when k follows.
• sing versus sink — /ŋ/ alone versus /ŋk/.

Teacher note

Teach immediately after ang/ing/ong/ung — same principle, and children who have accepted one accept the other without argument.

Learn these first

• Glued sounds: ang, ing, ong, ung — ang / ing / ong / ung — The vowel before ng is not quite the short vowel a child has learned, so these four rimes are taught whole rather than blended.

Related rules

• Glued sounds: ang, ing, ong, ung — ang / ing / ong / ung — The vowel before ng is not quite the short vowel a child has learned, so these four rimes are taught whole rather than blended.
• NK — nk — The n in nk is not /n/ — it is /ŋ/. Think is /θɪŋk/, which is why nk is taught as a glued unit rather than blended.
• Final blends — -st -nd -mp -nt -ft -lt -sk -lp — Blends at the end of a word. Harder to hear than initial blends, because the final consonant is quieter in ordinary speech.

• Previous in Glued and welded sounds: Glued sounds: ang, ing, ong, ung — ang / ing / ong / ung — The vowel before ng is not quite the short vowel a child has learned, so these four rimes are taught whole rather than blended.
• Next in Glued and welded sounds: The -old, -ild, -ind and -ost families — -old -ild -ind -ost -olt — Closed syllables with a long vowel. Cold, child, find and most all break the short-vowel rule, and they are common enough to be taught as a set.
• All reading rules

Give your child a reading buddy.

To read with every step of the way.

The reading buddy that listens. Structured, personalised phonics for ages 4 to 10, in joyful minutes a day.

Contact: hi@wigglerjr.com

• Curriculum
• How it works

• All guides
• Blog

• Our mission
• Become a partner
• Become a teacher

• FAQs
• Child Safety
• Privacy
• Terms
• Delete account

DPIIT recognised startup. Government of India.

© 2026 Wiggler Pvt. Ltd. Made in India with