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Diphthong

Diphthong OY / Choice Vowel

The diphthong vowel sound heard in words like "boy", "noise", "coin", and "toy". Often called the CHOICE vowel. It starts with a mid-back rounded vowel /ɔ/ (like in 'caught') and glides towards a high front unrounded vowel /ɪ/ (like in 'sit').

oy
Phonetic System (Merriam-Webster):oy

Watch the Sound

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Example Words

Main Example

boy
Phonetic: bɔɪ

Common Words

boybɔɪ
noisenɔɪz
coinkɔɪn
toytɔɪ
voicevɔɪs
choicetʃɔɪs
pointpɔɪnt
joindʒɔɪn
oilɔɪl
enjoyɪnˈdʒɔɪ

Minimal Pairs

Listen and compare similar sounds

oy
boil
bɔɪl
Compare with
B
bile
baɪl
oy
toy
tɔɪ
Compare with
T
tie
taɪ
oy
coin
kɔɪn
Compare with
C
kine
kaɪn

Tongue Twister

Roy enjoys the noisy toys.

Try it yourself

Practice saying this tongue twister

Technical Details

  • CategoryDiphthong
  • VoicingVoiced
  • Place of ArticulationBack-to-Front
  • Manner of ArticulationVowel (Diphthong)
  • Mouth PositionStart with the jaw mid-open, tongue low-mid and back, lips rounded (/ɔ/). Then, glide the tongue high and forward while unrounding the lips and closing the jaw slightly for the /ɪ/ sound.