Short vowels
How to pronounce /ɛ/ E as in bed
bedreadyfriend
How to make it
Mouth halfway open, tongue forward at mid height. Short and flat.
- Tongue
- Front, mid height
- Lips
- Slightly open
- Voice
- Short and quick
Watch the mouth
Mouth half open, tongue forward, sound short.
Where learners slip
- Arabic speakersShort /ɛ/ and /ɪ/ collapse together — bed and bid sound the same.
- Hindi speakersShort /ɛ/ drifts toward /ɛɪ/.
Say it on real English. See if it lands.
Lang Shadow scores /ɛ/ every time you say it — in Shorts, in role plays and in your own words — and colours it next to the other 40 sounds.