gn

Gn is a digraph formed by the letters g and n in the Latin alphabet. It is not a separate letter, but a unit used in several languages to spell particular sounds or sequences. It is most commonly associated with representing the palatal nasal sound /ɲ/ in Romance languages such as Italian, French, and Occitan.

In Italian and French, gn generally represents the palatal nasal /ɲ/. Common examples include the Italian giNocchi (gnocchi) and lasagne, and the French agneau (lamb) and champignon (mushroom). In these languages the digraph appears frequently and is a standard orthographic element. Other Romance languages that borrow from Italian or French also use gn with the same /ɲ/ value in many loanwords or native terms.

In English, the gn sequence is not phonemic in most modern words. When gn occurs at the beginning of a word, the g is usually silent and the pronunciation begins with n, as in gnaw or gnome. In other positions, dialects may treat gn similarly to gh or ny depending on the word’s origin, but the default is that the g is not pronounced in initial gn- words.

Gn is therefore best understood as a orthographic digraph rather than a separate letter. It signals a specific phonetic value in several languages while in English often contributing to a silent-g initial cluster.