American English Sounds
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  • Vowels
    • VOWEL CHART
    • Front >
      • /iy/ (see, keep)
      • /ɪ/ (sit, pick)
      • /ey/ (take, name)
      • /ɛ/ (pet, tell)
      • /æ/ (sat, past)
    • Central >
      • /ɜr/ (church, nurse)
      • /ər/ (mother, surprise)
      • /ʌ/ (cup, must)
      • /ə/ (about, undo)
      • /ɑ/ (stop, job)
    • Back >
      • /ʊ/ (good, put)
      • /uw/ (food, soon)
      • /ɔ/ (bought, lost)
      • /ow/ (low, coat)
    • Diphthongs >
      • /ɑɪ/ (light, pie)
      • /ɑʊ/ (cow, loud)
      • /ɔɪ/ (boy, voice)
  • Consonants
    • CONSONANT CHART
    • Lips (Bilabial) >
      • /p/ (peace, price)
      • /b/ (buy, brain)
      • /m/ (map, time)
      • /w/ (wait, win)
    • Lips-Teeth (Labio-dental) >
      • /f/ (fix, friend)
      • /v/ (vase, love)
    • Tongue-Teeth (Dental) >
      • /θ/ (thank, bath)
      • /ð/ (this, breathe)
    • Tongue-Gum Ridge (Alveolar) >
      • /t/ (take, stand)
      • /d/ (day, drive)
      • /s/ (sit, race)
      • /z/ (zoo, these)
      • /l/ (less, sleep)
      • /n/ (nice, man)
    • Tongue-Palate (Palatal) >
      • /ʃ/ (push, show)
      • /ʒ/ (measure, vision)
      • /tʃ/ (choose, match)
      • /dʒ/ (juice, edge)
      • /r/ (rose, borrow)
      • /y/ (yes, young)
    • Tongue-Soft Palate (Velar) >
      • /k/ (kiss, cat)
      • /g/ (gas, green)
      • /ŋ/ (hang, long)
    • Throat (Glottal) >
      • /h/ (help, hand)
  • Resources
    • Pronunciation Vocabulary
    • For Students
    • For Instructors

/ɑɪ/

LISTEN

listen_to_-ai-.mp3
File Size: 186 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/ɑɪ/.../ɑɪ/.../ɑɪ/.../ɑɪ/...

light...pie...sign...mi​le

WHAT IS IT?

​Pronunciation:
The sound /ɑɪ/ is a diphthong. This means your mouth should move from one position to another.
  • Lower your jaw and tongue and make your lips very open and wide (as for /ɑ/). Your tongue should be low, tight, and pulled backwards.
  • Breathe out and let your vocal cords vibrate.
  • As you breathe out, quickly raise your tongue and spread your lips widely (as for /ɪ/).
​
stressed_-ai-.mp3
File Size: 100 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

This vowel is usually stressed, as in these words.
  • lightly
  • highway
  • decide
unstressed_-ai-.mp3
File Size: 92 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

However, /ɑɪ/ can also be unstressed, as in these words:
  • flashlight
  • satisfy
  • idea

​Spelling:
  • "i"(e) - line, mile
  • "igh" - light, high
  • "ie" - pie, died
  • "y" - my, type
  • "uy" (not common) - guy, buy
  • "ei" (not common) - feisty, heist
  • "eigh" (not common) - height
​
​
Grammar Tip:
The sound /ɑɪ/ is part of the common suffixes “-ify/-efy,” and "-ize", which are used to form some verbs. These suffixes are usually unstressed.
grammar_with_-ai-_1.mp3
File Size: 484 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

  • qualify
  • satisfy
  • ​liquefy
grammar_with_-ai-_2.mp3
File Size: 484 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

  • realize
  • criticize
  • ​magnetize

COMPARE

Compare /ɑɪ/ with /ɑ/:
compare_ai-a_1.mp3
File Size: 136 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/ɑɪ/.../ɑ/.../ɑɪ/.../ɑ/.../ɑɪ/.../ɑ/...

The sound /ɑ/ is a low, central vowel. The sound /ɑɪ/ starts as /ɑ/, but it moves quickly into a high, front vowel.

You can hear the difference between /ɑɪ/ and /ɑ/ in these words.​
compare_ai-a_words2.mp3
File Size: 208 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. A. light, B. lot​
2. A. ride, B. rod
3. A. like, B. lock
4. A. swipe, B. swap
5. A. fire, B. far
​6. A. blind, B. blond

Practice recognizing words with /ɑɪ/ and /ɑ/ by taking the quiz below.

​Now, compare /ɑɪ/ and /iy/:
compare_ai-iy_1.mp3
File Size: 157 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/ɑɪ/.../iy/.../ɑɪ/.../iy/.../ɑɪ/.../iy/...

The sound /ɪ/ is a high, front, tense vowel. The sound /ɑɪ/ starts as a low, central, tense vowel, but it moves quickly to a high, front, lax vowel.

You can hear the difference between /ɑɪ/ and /iy/ in these words.
compare_ai-iy_words.mp3
File Size: 349 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

​1. A. fight, B. feet
2. A. lice, B. lease
3. A. bike, B. beak
4. A. died, B. deed
​5. A. tire, B. tear
6. A. style, B. steal

Practice recognizing words with /ɑɪ/ and /iy/ by taking the quiz below.