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The Pronunciation Lounge

Medium level

seat vs sit – /i:/ vs /ɪ/

Episode 250310 / 10 Mar 2025

(Images via Getty Images)

Free worksheet and transcript

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Watch Episode 4
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How do you pronounce 'seat' and 'sit'? /i:/ vs /ɪ/

/i:/ is a long vowel sound in English. It's in words like:

  • cheese
  • leaf
  • tea

To make this sound, open your mouth just a little bit, pull the corners of your mouth back like you're smiling and make the sound long – /i:/. Watch the video for a demonstration.

/ɪ/ is a short vowel sound. It's in words like:

  • bin
  • lift
  • hill

To make this sound, open your mouth a little, and relax your lips, jaw and tongue and make the sound short – /ɪ/. Watch the video for a demonstration.

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To do

Practise by using the worksheet on this page. The clip we heard came from an episode of The London to Edinburgh Challenge – listen to the whole programme.

Next

Words that start with a lot of consonant sounds, like 'stripe', 'throw' and 'fly', can be hard to pronounce. Watch Episode 4 here and learn about consonant clusters.

To learn more about long vowel sounds in English, click here.

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