Phonetics suggestion

[thomas]

Could any English speaker recommend me the best spelling for an 'invented' word that would be pronounced something like /ˈlɛvɪ/.

As I'm no expert in phonetic symbols, those phonetic symbols are just approximate. The main concern is that the first syllable sounds more like an 'e' instead of an 'ɪ', while the second one is an 'ɪ' or 'iː', instead of an 'aɪ'.

Thanks

[Josef Essberger]

Can you give a word that it rhymes with? That would help us know exactly what you expect.

In fact you could give two rhyming words: one for the first syllable, another for the second syllable

At the moment, the way you describe it, the permutations are endless.

[thomas]

Thanks for your reply.

The sound would be something similar to 'heavy'. I had thought of Levie.

What I definately don't want it to sound like is the brand Levi's, in neither of the syllables.

[Josef Essberger]

Depends a little on which syllable you want stressed in your fictitious word, but it sounds as though you need /ˈlevi/ (levy), as in the British English Macmillan dictionary:
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dic ... ish/levy_1
which gives you the audio too so you can check.

"Levy" is of course a real word meaning something like a tax.

Feel free to ask again for clarification.

[thomas]

Depends a little on which syllable you want stressed in your fictitious word, but it sounds as though you need /ˈlevi/ (levy), as in the British English Macmillan dictionary:
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dic ... ish/levy_1
which gives you the audio too so you can check.

"Levy" is of course a real word meaning something like a tax.

Feel free to ask again for clarification.

That was the pronunciation I was looking for, thanks. I still have doubts with the first syllable though. Couldn't it be mispronounced as an /i/ or /i:/? Would the spelling levvy make it clearer?

[Josef Essberger]

Yes, it probably would And since it's your word you can spell it any way you like