Pronounciation

Short Vowel Sounds (quick, relaxed sounds)

/a/ as in cat

• Mouth open, relaxed: “ah”
  
  

• Words: cat, ant, map
  
  

• Memory tip: Open your mouth wide like you’re at the doctor—“ah!”
  
  

/e/ as in bed

• Small smile, relaxed: “eh”
  
  

• Words: bed, pen, red
  
  

• Memory tip: Sounds like you’re unsure: “eh?”
  
  

/i/ as in sit

• Lips slightly apart, smile: “ih”
  
  

• Words: sit, pin, fish
  
  

• Memory tip: A tiny sound for a tiny dot on the i
  
  

/o/ as in hot

• Mouth open and round: “oh” (short)
  
  

• Words: hot, dog, box
  
  

• Memory tip: Surprised sound—but quick!
  
  

/u/ as in cup

• Relaxed mouth: “uh”
  
  

• Words: cup, sun, bug
  
  

• Memory tip: Tired sound: “uh…”

Long Vowel Sounds (say the letter’s name)

/ā/ as in cake

• Sounds like “ay”
  
  

• Words: cake, rain, play
  
  

• Memory tip: The vowel says its name!
  
  

/ē/ as in see

• Long smiling sound
  
  

• Words: see, tree, me
  
  

• Memory tip: Big smile = long ee
  
  

/ī/ as in time

• Sounds like “eye”
  
  

• Words: time, bike, fly
  
  

• Memory tip: Point to your eye
  
  

/ō/ as in home

• Long rounded sound
  
  

• Words: home, boat, snow
  
  

• Memory tip: Ohhh… nice and long
  
  

/ū/ as in use

• Sounds like “you”
  
  

• Words: use, cube, music
  
  

• Memory tip: Point to yourself: “you!”

👉 Top tip: What the Magic e Does Not Do

This helps avoid confusion later.

• The magic e does not make a sound
  
  

• It usually only changes the first vowel
  
  

• It does not work in every word (English likes to break rules!)
  
  

Examples where magic e doesn’t change the vowel:

• have
  
  

• give
  
  

• come
  
  

You can simply say:

“This word doesn’t follow the magic e rule.”