Lips
Open your mouth moderately, about as far as the animation shows. Lips neutral and slightly spread, with both rows of teeth just visible. No rounding.
Short vowels
/ɛ/ · /e/as in dress
The vowel in "dress". Mouth moderately open, tongue mid-front, kept short and pure.
Example words: dress, bed, head, pen, friend
Accent
Mouth
How do you pronounce the /ɛ/ · /e/ sound?
Tongue
Tongue in the middle-front of the mouth, moderately raised. Keep the tip resting behind your lower teeth.
Length
Short and crisp. Don't stretch it, and don't let it glide anywhere. It starts and ends as the same sound.
Video lesson
Try it
- Say "ee", then drop your jaw slightly and let the tongue lower a step.
- Hold that position and say a short, clean "eh".
- Freeze your jaw so the sound can't glide.
- Try: dress, bed, head.
Check
Record "bed, bad, bed, bad" and listen back. You should hear two clearly different vowels: "bed" with the jaw half-open, "bad" noticeably wider. If they blur together, exaggerate the jaw drop on "bad".
Common trap
Two common slips: opening too far so "bed" turns into "bad", or letting the vowel glide into "ay" so "bed" sounds like "bade". Keep the jaw at half-open and hold the vowel steady from start to finish.
Practice: /ɛ/ · /e/
Words
dressdɹˈɛs
bedbˈɛd
headhˈɛd
penpˈɛn
friendfɹˈɛnd
Sentences
My best friend said hello again.mˌaɪ bˈɛst fɹˈɛnd sˈɛd həlˈoʊ əɡˈɛn.
She kept the red dress on the bed.ʃˌi kˈɛpt ðə ɹˈɛd dɹˈɛs ˌɔn ðə bˈɛd.
Let's get some fresh bread for breakfast.lˈɛts ɡɛt sˌʌm fɹˈɛʃ bɹˈɛd fɔɹ bɹˈɛkfəst.
He fell and hurt his head yesterday.hˌi fˈɛl ænd hˈɜɹt hɪz hˈɛd jˈɛstəɹdˌeɪ.
Ten friends went to the wedding together.tˈɛn fɹˈɛndz wˈɛnt tə ðə wˈɛdɪŋ təɡˈɛðəɹ.
Words
dressdɹˈɛs
bedbˈɛd
headhˈɛd
penpˈɛn
friendfɹˈɛnd
Sentences
My best friend said hello again.mˌaɪ bˈɛst fɹˈɛnd sˈɛd həlˈəʊ əɡˈɛn.
She kept the red dress on the bed.ʃˌiː kˈɛpt ðə ɹˈɛd dɹˈɛs ˌɒn ðə bˈɛd.
Let's get some fresh bread for breakfast.lˈɛts ɡɛt sˌʌm fɹˈɛʃ bɹˈɛd fɔː bɹˈɛkfəst.
He fell and hurt his head yesterday.hˌiː fˈɛl and hˈɜːt hɪz hˈɛd jˈɛstədeɪ.
Ten friends went to the wedding together.tˈɛn fɹˈɛndz wˈɛnt tə ðə wˈɛdɪŋ təɡˈɛðə.
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Sounds in the same group
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