/i/ as in "leaf"
/i/ is a long, tense front vowel of General American English, as in "leaf" and "green." To produce it, corners of the lips pulled wide. Phoneme provides native-speaker audio and minimal-pair contrasts so learners can hear and practice this vowel.
/i/
leafalso: green
How to make /i/
long, tense front vowel — corners of the lips pulled wide.
Also written as
- /iː/
- with a length mark in most British and learner dictionaries
Sounds that learners confuse with /i/
Minimal pairs for /i/
| /i/ | /ɪ/ |
|---|---|
| sheep | ship |
| seat | sit |
| heat | hit |
| feet | fit |
| beat | bit |
| feel | fill |
| peel | pill |
| week | wick |