The short vowel /ɛ/ (the sound in bed, pen and red) is easy when it is spelled e. But English also spells it with ai (said), a (any, many), ie (friend), u (bury), ea (bread), eo (leopard) and ue (guess). If you read these words by the usual letter-sound rules, you get "sayd", "freend", "BYOO-ree" and "ah-ny", and native speakers may not understand you.
The good news is that most of these words belong to small groups. Once you know which letters can hide /ɛ/, you can predict most of the surprises, and you only need to memorize a short list of really common words.
The Rule in Short
- ai before d, n or ns = /ɛ/ in a few very common words: said /sɛd/, again /əˈɡɛn/, against /əˈɡɛnst/. In most other words, ai is /eɪ/: paid, rain, wait, main.
- ay in says = /ɛ/: says /sɛz/ (not "sayz"). Compare days, plays, stays with /eɪz/.
- a in any, many = /ɛ/: any /ˈɛni/, many /ˈmɛni/. The same for Thames /tɛmz/ (the river).
- ie in friend = /ɛ/: friend /frɛnd/. The usual ie sound is /i/ (field, piece), so friend is the exception.
- u in bury, burial = /ɛ/: bury /ˈbɛri/ sounds exactly like berry. The same for burial /ˈbɛriəl/.
- ea before d, th, dy, lth, sure = /ɛ/: head, bread, dead, read (past), health, wealth, breath, ready, heavy, weather, measure, treasure, pleasure. See the full list in the EA rule.
- eo in leopard, jeopardy, Geoffrey = /ɛ/; ue in guess, guest = /ɛ/ (the u is silent after g).
Why It Works
Common words resist spelling changes
Words like said, any, many, friend, bury and again are among the most frequent in English, so people kept saying them the old way even when the pronunciation of related words changed. The Great Vowel Shift moved the long vowels but left some short ones alone. As a result, the spelling reflects an older form (Old English sægde, ænig, freond, byrgan) while the sound is a short /ɛ/. For the bigger story see the Great Vowel Shift.
Short vowels before certain consonants
The vowel /ɛ/ appears before "heavy" consonants such as d, n, nd, th, lth, dy: head, again, friend, health, ready. That is why the same ea that says /i/ in read (present) and meat says /ɛ/ in head and bread. The consonant after the vowel is a clue.
Silent letters that change nothing
In guess and guest, the u only tells you the g is hard (/ɡ/), as in get. It does not add a sound. See silent u after g.
Pattern Table
| Word | IPA (US) | Respelling | Spelling of /ɛ/ | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| said | /sɛd/ | SED | ai | paid /peɪd/ |
| says | /sɛz/ | SEZ | ay | days /deɪz/ |
| again | /əˈɡɛn/ | uh-GEN | ai | gain /ɡeɪn/ |
| against | /əˈɡɛnst/ | uh-GENST | ai | main /meɪn/ |
| any | /ˈɛni/ | EN-ee | a | an /æn/ |
| many | /ˈmɛni/ | MEN-ee | a | man /mæn/ |
| friend | /frɛnd/ | FREND | ie | field /fild/ |
| bury | /ˈbɛri/ | BEH-ree | u | hurry /ˈhɝi/ |
| burial | /ˈbɛriəl/ | BEH-ree-ul | u | none |
| head | /hɛd/ | HED | ea | heat /hit/ |
| bread | /brɛd/ | BRED | ea | bead /bid/ |
| health | /hɛlθ/ | HELTH | ea | heal /hil/ |
| leopard | /ˈlɛpɚd/ | LEP-erd | eo | none |
| guess | /ɡɛs/ | GES | ue | geese /ɡis/ |
| Thames | /tɛmz/ | TEMZ | a | none |
| leisure | /ˈliʒɚ/ or /ˈlɛʒɚ/ | LEE-zher / LEZH-er | ei | both accepted (US /ˈliʒɚ/ more common) |
Exceptions
- ai is normally /eɪ/: paid, maid, laid, afraid, aid, raid, rain, wait, train, chain. Only said, again, against use /ɛ/. Remember: said /sɛd/ but paid /peɪd/.
- ie is normally /i/ or /aɪ/: field, piece, believe, pie, tie. Only friend and a few others use /ɛ/. Fiend /find/ is not friend.
- ea is not always /ɛ/: break, great, steak use /eɪ/; read (present) and lead (verb) use /i/; heart and hearth use /ɑr/. See EA spelling patterns.
- Again has two accepted forms: /əˈɡɛn/ (more common in the US) and /əˈɡeɪn/ (also common, and standard in British English). Do not mix this up with gain.
- Bury and berry are homophones, but hurry, worry and jury are not /ɛ/: hurry /ˈhɝi/, jury /ˈdʒʊri/.
- Leisure and either/neither have two correct pronunciations (/ˈliʒɚ/ or /ˈlɛʒɚ/; /ˈiðɚ/ or /ˈaɪðɚ/). Choose one and use it consistently.
Common Learner Mistakes
- Spanish speakers read each letter with its Spanish value: said as "sayd", says as "sayz", any as "AH-nee", friend as "freend" and bury as "BOO-ree". They also tend to use Spanish /e/ for /ɛ/; make the vowel slightly more open and shorter.
- Portuguese speakers read friend as "FRI-end" (like amigo) and bury as "BU-ri". Remind yourself that the spelling is misleading.
- French speakers usually manage said, but say says as "sayz" and any as "A-nee", and they may swallow the final /d/ of friend. Release the /nd/ clearly.
- German speakers read ie as long [iː], so friend becomes "freend" and field "feeld". They also read ai as [aɪ], giving "side" for said.
- Pronouncing silent letters: "gwess" for guess, "guh-est" for guest.
- Mixing up said and paid: both end in "aid", but they do not rhyme.
How to Practice
- Learn the list as a story. "My friend said many words again." That sentence has four /ɛ/ surprises.
- Rhyme with real /ɛ/ words. said rhymes with bed; friend with bend; bury with merry; guess with less; says with fez; any with penny.
- Contrast pairs. Say said / paid, again / gain, friend / fiend, head / heat, bury / hurry.
- Open your mouth a little. /ɛ/ is more open than /eɪ/ and has no glide. Do not let the vowel drift toward "ay".
- Mark the word. When you see said, any, many, friend, bury, again or against in a text, write "ɛ" above the vowel.
- Record yourself reading the practice sentences.
Practice
Practice Sentences
- My friend said it again, and many people agreed.
- Any guest can guess what the leopard says.
- She says the bread and the head of lettuce are ready.
- They bury the treasure against the wall.
- He said he paid for the health insurance.
- Many of my friends said the weather was pleasant.
Quick Summary
- /ɛ/ is spelled e normally, but ai (said, again), ay (says), a (any, many), ie (friend), u (bury), ea (head), eo (leopard), ue (guess).
- These are mostly very common words that kept an older short sound. Memorize them as a short list.
- Check the exceptions: said is not paid, friend is not fiend, bury is not hurry.
- Again has two accepted forms, /əˈɡɛn/ and /əˈɡeɪn/.
- Keep /ɛ/ short and without a glide.