/eɪ/ — the /eɪ/ sound
the /eɪ/ sound
Vowels · Gliding vowels
This sound hasn't been scored yet.
How to make it
Start at /e/ and glide up to /ɪ/ in one breath.
Watch a native speaker say it
See the mouth and tongue before you record — hearing a sound rarely tells you where the tongue goes.
Rachel's English · English Sounds - AY as in SAY Diphthong [eɪ] - How to make the AY as in SAY Diphthong [eɪ] Watch on YouTube
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Words with this sound
Tap the speaker to hear a native speaker say it.
age
/eɪdʒ/
hey
/heɪ/
pay
/peɪ/
say
/seɪ/
they
/ðeɪ/
way
/weɪ/
away
/əˈweɪ/
bake
/beɪk/
cake
/keɪk/
date
/deɪt/
days
/ˈdeɪz/
eighth
/eɪtθ/
Minimal pairs
Two words that differ by exactly one sound. Listen until you can tell them apart, then say them yourself.
- eɪ
gate
/ɡeɪt/
eget
/ɡet/
- eɪ
hey
/heɪ/
aɪhi
/haɪ/
- eɪ
hey
/heɪ/
iːhe
/hi/
- eɪ
case
/keɪs/
ɪkiss
/kɪs/
- eɪ
bake
/beɪk/
æback
/bæk/
- eɪ
hey
/heɪ/
ɑːhah
/hɑː/
- eɪ
mail
/mˈeɪl/
ɔːmall
/mɔːl/
- eɪ
bake
/beɪk/
ʊbook
/bʊk/
Test yourself on this sound
Read these 8 words in one recording. The AI scores every sound and tells you whether your /eɪ/ came out right.