Vowels: Comparing long e and short i

Listen to the long e sound
Listen to the short i sound

The long e and short i are among the most difficult vowels for non-native English speakers to differentiate between. The sounds are created similarly in that the front of the tongue is raised during their production.

Compare the long e and short i sounds

To create the long e sound, the body of the tongue is held high and close to the tooth ridge and hard palate. The jaw is mostly closed, allowing a very narrow stream of air to pass through the vocal tract. The tongue and jaw lower slightly from this position to create the short i sound.

long e		short i
deep green leak		dip grin lick

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