How to Pronounce the /ɪ/ Sound 

How to Pronounce the /ɪ/ Sound

In this lesson, we are going to learn how the sound /ɪ/ is produced by looking at the articulatory organs.

What Type of Sound Is /ɪ/?

/ɪ/ is similar to the /i/ but always shorter. It sounds somehow between /i/ and /e/.

How to Produce /ɪ/?

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To produce it, as you see in the picture, lower your jaw, and open your mouth slightly, and stretch out the corner of your lips just a little bit as if you are smiling. Notice that the lips are ungrounded. As you can see in the picture, the mouth is slightly more open than when producing the /iː/ sound. However, note that when saying /ɪ/ your lips are wider than when saying the /e/ sound.

Which Letters are Pronounced as /ɪ/?

The sound /ɪ/ is represented by the following letters:

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i:

Example

is /ɪz/

with /wɪð/

e:

Example

become /bɪˈkʌm/

enough /ɪˈnʌf/

y:

Example

myth /mɪθ/

symbol /ˈsɪmbəl/

/ɪ/ Around the World

As you see in the table below, most of the common languages around the world do not have this sound; therefore you will need a little practice to produce it.

Existence

Example

Mandarin

x

-

Spanish

x

-

Hindi

जितना

Bengali

x

-

Portuguese

x

-

Russian

лиса́

Japanese

x

-

Vietnamese

x

-

Turkish

x

-

French

x

-

German

ist

Italian

x

-

Persian

x

-

Standard Arabic

x

-

Korean

x

-

Indonesian

x

-

Filipino

iták

Hungarian

x

-

Dutch

vis

Polish

x

-

Romanian

x

-

Swedish*

sill

Czech

byl

Greek

x

-

Ukrainian

ми́ша

Urdu

جِتنا

* Sweden Swedish has this sound.

Listening

Let us listen to the pronunciation of the /ɪ/ sound which has been mentioned below:

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Down below, there are two other sounds similar to the /ɪ/ sound. At first, listen to the /e/ sound and then listen to the /i/ sound:

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