Vowel a sound words


List of Short Vowel Words

The English language provides a list of short vowel words that seem to be never ending. A short vowel word is any word that doesn't allow the vowel within it to generate that vowel's long vowel sound.

List of Short Vowel Words

For example, the word "bug" is a short vowel word because there's no long "U" sound. A word doesn't necessarily have to have three letters to be a short vowel word, but it makes for the easiest example and three-lettered words make up the bulk of any list of short vowel words. Let's take a look.

Advertisement

Short Vowel Sounds in Words

Here's the reason why words with only three letters typically make the short vowel sound. Three letters usually don't allow for a second vowel to force the long vowel sound out. Exceptions include words like "bee" or "tea."

These words use a second vowel to force the long vowel sound from the first one, while other words like "ant" or "mat" use the placement of consonants to force a short vowel sound.

But, here's an important point to keep in mind. The words listed below are short vowel sounds, not short vowel spellings. That is, just because a word is short, doesn't mean it will automatically have a short vowel sound. And vowel as written doesn't always correspond with the sound it makes. Take the word "pretty." The E is sounded like a short I, and the Y is sounded like a long E. Phonetically, it sounds more like "prit-tee," not "pret-tai."

Likewise, we can't assume a long word will automatically have a long vowel sound. Let's look at the word "business." The U and E in "business" are also sounded like a short I, and the I is silent altogether. Phonetically speaking, we don't pronounce it "buss-eye-ness." It's more like "biz-niss." With that in mind, let's explore more short vowel words, sorted by letter.

Short "A" Words

The short A sound is what you hear in words like "bat" or "map." Here are some other great examples of words with the short A sound.

act

apt

ask

bat

bad

bag

cat

cap

cab

dad

dab

Dan

fan

fat

fad

gap

gab

gal

gas

ham

has

had

hat

jab

jam

lab

lad

lag

lap

man

mad

mat

map

nap

pan

Pam

pad

pal

ran

ram

rag

rat

Sam

sad

sag

sat

sap

tab

tan

tad

tag

tap

van

vat

yam

zap

Advertisement

Short "E" Words

The short E sound is what you hear in words like "gem" or "hem. " Here are some other great examples of words with the short E sound.

ben

bed

beg

bet

den

fed

gem

get

gel

hen

hem

jet

keg

led

leg

let

men

met

net

pen

peg

pet

red

set

ten

Ted

vet

yet

wed

wet

Short "I" Words

The short I sound is what you hear in words like "dim" or "fib." Here are some other great examples of words with the short I sound.

bin

bid

big

bit

dim

did

dig

dip

fin

fig

fit

gin

gig

him

his

hid

hit

hip

jib

jig

kin

kid

kit

lid

lit

lip

nip

pin

pig

pit

rim

rid

rig

rip

sin

sit

sip

tin

tip

win

wit

zip

Short "O" Words

The short O sound is what you hear in words like "con" or "nod. " Here are some other great examples of words with the short O sound.

bog

bop

con

cod

cog

cot

cop

don

dog

dot

fog

god

got

hog

hot

jog

jot

lob

log

lot

lop

mob

mom

mop

nod

not

odd

pod

pop

pot

rod

rot

sod

Tom

tot

top

Short "U" Words

The short U sound is what you hear in words like "bus" or "hum." Here are some other great examples of words with the short U sound.

bun

bum

bus

bud

bug

but

cud

cut

cup

dug

fun

gun

gum

Gus

gut

hum

hug

hut

jug

jut

lug

mug

nun

nut

pun

pug

pup

rub

run

rum

rug

rut

sub

sun

sum

tug

View & Download PDF

Advertisement

Using Short Vowel Sounds

Though the above list of words with short vowels is incomplete, you can use it to understand the basic usage for the short vowel sounds. These short vowel sounds are often used in larger words as well. You might see them in words that also contain long vowel sounds, or even in two-lettered words, like "in," "it," and "at." Longer words, such as "magistrate" or "fascinate," use both short long vowel sounds.

Some words use the short vowel sound and the long vowel sound, depending on the tense of the word. Words like "read," for example, are pronounced as the long vowel sound when the tense is present. For example, "We are reading this list of short vowel words."

However, when the tense is changed from present to past tense, the long vowel sound is taken away and the short vowel sound is introduced in the same word. For example, "I read the list of short vowel words, and understand much better now."

Pronunciation Pros

If you're teaching short vowel sounds to little learners, practice makes perfect. If you're teaching ESL students, here are some tips and resources for teaching ESL pronunciation. And, when you're ready for the flip side of the coin? Take a look at these examples of long vowel words too. You might also want to explore when "y" is a vowel.

Short and Long A Vowel Sound Words List

We have 26 alphabets in English Grammar out of which 5 are vowels (a,e,i,o,u) and rest 21 are consonants. Pronunciation of every vowel is different from the other which gives rise to different types of sounds wherever they are used.

Today we are going to discuss about vowel ‘a’ and learn different sounds it produces whenever it is used in a word.

One of the first encounters for a student is this concept of long and short vowel sounds, such as ‘a’. Short a, written phonetically as /æ/, makes the vowel sound of a, as in cap, tap, fat and bat.

Following ESL phonics extensive list introduces students to “short a” and “long a” sound words.

Short ‘A’ Vowel Sound Words
actaptaskbatbadbagcat
capcabdaddabdanfanfat
fadgapgabgalgashamhas
hadhatjabjamlabladlag
lapmanmadmatmapnappan
Pampadpalranramragrat
Samsadsagsatsaptabtan
tadtagtapvanvatyamzap
ActorAlbumCamelDaggerFactoryHammerAtlas
PanicRabbitSaddleBanditLadderJanuaryActive

Carefully go through the words given in above table and try to pronounce them. You’ll observe a pattern that we don’t have to stress on the vowel ‘a’ therefore we hear a soft ‘a’ sound.

Notice all three-letter words and vowel ‘a’ which is used between two consonants, these types of words are called CVC words.

Now Let us move to the long ‘a’ vowel words section where you would have to stress the vowel ‘a’ to pronounce the words correctly.

Long ‘A’ Vowel Sound Words

The long /a/ sound is pronounced like the word ‘Alien’. It is quite similar to sound what you hear in words like “Acorn” or “Apron.”

There are four ways of spelling Long ‘a’ sounds:

1. Using Letter A: You can spell the long /a/ sound with just the letter a.

AlienAgentApronAcorn
BasicDataFatalBasin

2. Using Split Digraph A _ E : These words spell the long /a/ sound using a split digraph a_e where is in the middle of the word and an e at the end of the word.

BakeCakeShakeMakeFakeSnake
FadeMadeMaidLaidShadeKate
SameFameNameGameLameFlame
CaneManeMainLaneInsanePlane

3. AI and AY Words: The long /a/ sound is spelled with the letters ai and ay, at the end of some words.

AimFailSnailPainChain
StainVainPaintFaintWaist
ClaimSailTailWaitStrain
DayHayLayPayRay
TrayStaySwayPlayPray

4. Using EI Words: The long /a/ sound is spelled with the letters ei usually at the middle of the word.

ReinsVeinVeilReignNeigh
WeighSleighEightFreightWeight

Notice that whenever you pronounce these words you’ll hear a sharp ‘a’ sound that is why they are called Long ‘a’ vowel words.

We hope you have found this post useful for your child. Practice sounding out these words to help your child build his/her phonics skills.

Keep exploring EnglishBix to find more resources related to Elementary Grades.

Quick Links

Vowel sounds and letters. How many are there in Russian?

Free introductory lesson in Russian

Enroll

Correct pronunciation of words is one of the components of beautiful and literate speech. To achieve this, you will first have to study the sounds themselves. In this article, we will figure out together what vowel sounds are, how many vowels are in the alphabet of the Russian language, and what sounds they can represent.

What are vowels and sounds

Vowel sounds are those sounds that we freely convey with our voice. Hence their name comes from: voice means "voice". When pronouncing, air exits through the mouth and does not create noise, and the position of the tongue and lips determines which vowel sound we will pronounce.

There are much fewer vowels in Russian than consonants. There are 6 of them in total: [a], [o], [i], [s], [y] and [e]. To understand whether a vowel sound is in front of you or not, try to sing it. For example:

  • a-a-a ,

  • woo

  • s-s-s .

If it works, then the sound is a vowel. You can't do that with consonants.

There are more vowels than sounds - there are 10 of them: a, i, u, u, o, e, e, e, i, s . This difference is due to the fact that some of these letters can represent two sounds and are pronounced using a combination of a vowel and a consonant [y']. For example, in the word spruce the letter e two sounds are expressed - [y '] and [e]. Let's look at the table all the vowel sounds and the letters that represent them.

Letter

Sound

Example

a [a] pharmacy
i

[a]

[d'] + [a]

change

anchor

y [y] moon

[y]

[y'] + [y]

love

skirt

about

[o]

[a]

horse

milk

e

[e]

[y'] + [e]

[and]

victory

raccoon

great

e

[o]

[d'] + [o]

rope

hedgehog

e

[e]

evolution

and

[and]

[s]

caviar

life

s

[s]

choice

Demo lesson in Russian

Take the test at the introductory lesson and find out what topics separate you from the "five" in Russian.

How vowel sounds are related to syllables

Vowel sounds form syllables - sound segments of words that we pronounce with one breath. One syllable can be either a vowel with one or more consonants, or a vowel alone. There is even a rule by which syllables can be counted: how many vowels in a word - so many syllables.

For example, in the word journey there are 5 vowels: [u], [i], [e], [i] and [e]. This means that it has 5 syllables: p-te-she-stv-e .

Test yourself!

Count the number of syllables in the words: try on, tanner, well-groomed, care, prefix, capital, wet, invitation, orange .

Vowel sounds and stress

Now let's see what groups vowel sounds are divided into. Sometimes their pronunciation depends on whether the stress falls on them, that is, whether we single them out with our voice. So vowel sounds are divided into stressed and unstressed. Here are some examples:

Sound
Impact position
Unstressed position
[and]
large
prize money
[a]
chess
spruce
[y]
frog
empty

Stress in Russian can fall on any of the existing vowel sounds. However, only 4 of them can be unstressed - these are [a], [i], [y] and [s]. In this position, we pronounce sounds weaker than under stress, because of which they can change qualities and sound differently.

Interestingly, the vowels [o] and [e] can only be stressed. There are only a couple of exceptions to this rule: for example, in words cocoa and canoe sounds [o] and [e] in an unstressed position.

How unstressed vowels are related to consonants

How an unstressed vowel sounds depends on the consonant that precedes it. Or rather, from its hardness or softness. If it is a hard consonant, it can be followed by unstressed vowels [y], [a] and [s]. When we talk about a soft consonant, it is followed by unstressed vowels [y] and [and].

After a hard consonant
After a soft consonant
[l]howl
p[r'i]kaz
[wa] yes
[s'u] yes
[woo]lcan
[v'i]trina

Free English lessons with a native speaker

Practice 15 minutes a day. Learn English grammar and vocabulary. Make language a part of life.

Test yourself

It's time to find out if you now understand well what vowel sounds are in Russian. To do this, we have prepared tasks for self-examination.

Task 1

List all the vowel sounds in these words:

  • screech,

  • fair,

  • rejoice,

  • doll,

  • distant,

  • buddy,

  • voting,

  • mirror,

  • story,

  • OK,

  • captivate.

Task 2

Name 5 words each in which the sounds [a], [i], [y] and [s] would be stressed.

Task 3

Name 5 words in which an unstressed vowel would come after a hard consonant and 5 more words where it would follow a soft consonant.

Task 4

Count the number of syllables in the words below (don't forget to use the rule you learned at the beginning of the article!):

  • weightless,

  • sunrise,

  • adventure,

  • painter,

  • perpetuate,

  • pleasant,

  • image,

  • category,

  • exciting,

  • melting,

  • snowflake.

The rules of phonetics help us to speak correctly, so it is important to master the topic of vowels well and avoid gaps in knowledge. If even after reading the article you still have questions on the topic, you can figure them out in the Russian language course at Skysmart. In online lessons, the teacher will help the student work out the theory and consolidate the result on non-boring tasks. So the student will be able to improve the quality of knowledge, and fall in love with the subject.

Cheat sheets for parents

All Rules in Russian at hand

Alena Fedotova

Author Skysmart

to the previous article

Supplement

to the next article

phonetic analysis of

90,0002

Russian language
Please rate Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5

Signing of vowels

in Russian 10 vowels: 5 vowels of the first row A , O , U , E , s , which show the hardness of the previous consonant and 5 vowels of the second row , I , I , I . Yo , Yu , E , and , which show the softness of the preceding consonant.

In Russian 6 vowels А , О , У , E , E , S .

In Russian, iotated letters Я , Е , Yo , Yu at the beginning of the word and after the vowel, as well as after ь and Ъ letters denote 2 sounds [Я ] , Yu - [YU], E - [YE], Yo - [YO].

Let's get acquainted with each vowel0012 . Under stress [A] and without stress [A]. If the consonant sounds solid and [A] is heard after it, we write the letter A

(small) . If the consonant sounds soft and [A] is heard after it, we write the letter I (small) . The exception is words with CHA, SCHA. We hear [I], and we write A.
The first letter of the alphabet. [A] is pronounced in the alphabet.

E - second row vowel, which indicates the softness of the consonant . Iotated. There is no [E] sound. The letter E can stand for different sounds depending on the location in the word and stress.

    Option 1. Letter E under stress.

  1. If E is at the beginning of the word (spruce), after b and b (eat up), after the vowel (trip) , then it means 2 sounds [YE].
  2. Any iotated letter means 1 sound only if it comes after the consonant (forest) .
    Here the letter E stands for the sound [E].

    Option 2. Letter E without accent.

  1. If E is at the beginning of the word (raccoon), after b and b (drive up) , after the vowel (train) , then it means 2 sounds [II]. (Attention! Difficulty! It is better not to pay close attention to this position. Because in fact, a sound appears that represents something in between [I] and [E] - reduction.)
  2. Any iotized letter means 1 sound only if it comes after the consonant (forest) . Here the letter E stands for the sound [I].

The sixth letter of the alphabet. [YE] is pronounced in the alphabet.

Yo - second row vowel, which denotes the softness of the consonant . Iotated. Attention! You can not put an accent on Yo, since Yo is always stressed. There is no [Yo] sound. The letter Ё can stand for different sounds depending on the location in the word.

  1. If Yo is at the beginning of a word (hedgehog) , after b and b (rise) , after vowel (sings) , then it means 2 sounds [YO].
  2. Any iotized letter denotes 1 sound only if it comes after the consonant (dog) . Here the letter Ё stands for the sound [О].

The seventh letter of the alphabet. [YO] is pronounced in the alphabet.

And - second row vowel, which indicates the softness of the consonant . Under stress [I] and without stress [I]. If the consonant sounds soft and after it [I] is heard, we write the letter I (rice) . The exception is words with combinations ZhI, SHI. We hear [Y] and write I.
The tenth letter of the alphabet. [I] is pronounced in the alphabet.

O - the first row vowel, which indicates the hardness of the consonant . Under stress [O], and without stress [A]. If the consonant sounds solid and [O] is heard after it, we write the letter O (nose) . If the consonant sounds soft and after it is heard [O], we write the letter Yo (carried). Exception - walked, silk
The sixteenth letter of the alphabet. [O] is pronounced in the alphabet.

At - is the vowel of the first row, which indicates the hardness of the consonant . Under stress [U] and without stress [U]. If the consonant sounds solid and [U] is heard after it, we write the letter U (bow) . If the consonant sounds soft and [U] is heard after it, we write the letter Yu (hatch) . The exception is words with combinations CHU, SCHU.
The twenty-first letter of the alphabet. [Y] is pronounced in the alphabet.

S - the first row vowel, which indicates the hardness of the consonant . Under stress [S] and without stress [S]. The letter Y is never at the beginning of a word. If the consonant sounds solid and [Y] is heard after it, we write the letter Y (son) . The exception is words with combinations ZhI, SHI. We hear [Y], and we write I.
The twenty-ninth letter of the alphabet. [Y] is pronounced in the alphabet.

E - the first row vowel, which indicates the hardness of the consonant . Under stress [E] and without stress [E]. Usually the letter is written after the vowels (poet) or at the beginning of the word (echo) .
The thirty-first letter of the alphabet. [E] is pronounced in the alphabet.

Yu - is a vowel of the second row, which indicates the softness of the consonant . Iotated. There is no sound [Yu]. The letter Yu can stand for different sounds depending on the location in the word. The accent doesn't matter.

  1. If Yu is at the beginning of a word (yula), after b and b (drink) , after the vowel (sing) , then it means 2 sounds [YU].
  2. Any iotized letter means 1 sound only if it comes after the consonant (hatch) . The letter Yu stands for the sound [U].
    The exception is words with combinations CHU, SCHU. We hear [Yu], and we write U (pike) .

The thirty-second letter of the alphabet. [YU] is pronounced in the alphabet.

I - second row vowel, which denotes the softness of the consonant . Iotated. The sound [I] does not exist. The letter I can stand for different sounds depending on the location in the word and stress.

    Option 1. The letter I is under stress.

  1. If I is at the beginning of the word (coachman) , after b and b (weeds) , after the vowel (bayan) , then it means 2 sounds [YA].
  2. Any iotated letter means 1 sound only if it comes after the consonant (elm) . The letter I stands for the sound [A].

    Option 2. The letter I without stress.

  1. If I is at the beginning of the word (coachman) , after b and b (sarcastic) , after the vowel (appearance) , then it means 2 sounds [YA]. (Attention! Difficulty! It is better not to pay close attention to this position. Because in fact, a sound appears that represents a cross between [I] and [A]).
  2. Any iotated letter means 1 sound only if it comes after the consonant (meat) .

    Learn more