Below is a list of words that vary only by one having the sound /ɪ/ and the other the sound /i:/.
You can use this list to practise the sounds, or as a list of words to be careful in pronouncing.
As indicated by the /:/ part of its symbol, /i:/ is a longer sound than /ɪ/ and pronouncing it this way can help distinguish between the two in the pairs of words below. You will also notice, however, that /ɪ/ does not have a dot over it, making it a different mouth position from /i:/. The sound /i:/ is said with the mouth much more spread, something like a broad smile. This is why we say "cheese" rather than "chiz" (or "whizz") when we take photos.
Elementary
bin bean
chip cheap
his he’s
it eat
sit seat
Pre-Intermediate
did deed
fill feel
fit feet
grin green
hit heat
is ease
mitt meet
slip sleep
still steal
Intermediate
bit beat
bitch beach
itch each
gin gene
grid greed
hid heed
hill he’ll
ill eel
kip keep
knit neat
lick leak
lip leap
mill meal
pick peek
piss piece
pitch peach
risen reason
shit sheet
sick seek
sin scene
sin seen
still steel
tin teen
Upper-Intermediate
bid bead
bitch beech
biz bees
chick cheek
chit cheat
dip deep
fist feast
fizz fees
hip heap
kid keyed
pill peel
pip peep
piss peace
sill seal
sim seem
skid skied
skim scheme
till teal
tizz teas
Advanced
blip bleep
britches breeches
crick creek
din dean
finned fiend
flit fleet
gip jeep
grist greased
pit peat
sim seam
sip seep
shin sheen
skit skeet
slick sleek
slit sleet
tick teak
tit teat
tizz tease
Alex Case is the author of TEFLtastic and the Teaching...: Interactive Classroom Activities series of business and exam skills e-books for teachers. He has been a teacher, teacher trainer, director of studies, and editor in Turkey, Thailand, Spain, Greece, Italy, UK, Korea and now Japan. He has published a book with Macmillan and hundreds of articles, reviews, lesson plans and worksheets with Onestopenglish, Modern English Teacher and many others. In addition to contributing articles and teaching ideas to Tefl.NET, Alex for many years edited Tefl.NET Book Reviews.
