Main Vowel Sounds of American English

1. /i/ read, heat, meet, seat, seen, feet.
Please eat the meat and the cheese before you leave.

2. /ɪ/ in, bit, this, give, sister, will, city.
My sister Linda will live in the big city.

3. /eɪ/ late, gate, bait, fail, main, braid, wait.
Jane’s face looks great for her age of eighty-eight.

4. /ɛ/ let, get, end, any, fell, bread, men, said.
I went to Texas for my friend’s wedding.

5. /æ/ last, apple, add, can, answer, class.
The handsome man lost his baggage after his travels.

6. /ɑ/ stop, lock, farm, want, army, possible, got.
John is positive that his car was parked in that lot.

7. /ɘ/ come, up, jump, but, does, love, money, about.
Your younger doesn’t trust us, does he?