e (bed)
/e/
- Language
- English
- Unit
- Vowels
- IPA
- /e/
- Practice words
- 5
Sample pronunciation audio — Open the full phoneme overview
Start with one sample audio file for short vowels - /e/.
Quick tip
Short vowels are quick and relaxed. Keep your tongue in a central or near-central position.
Letters and IPA
Practice words
-
bed
-
pen
-
red
-
ten
-
best
Minimal pairs
- bed / bed/bad
- pen / pen/pin
- ten / ten/tan
- men / men/man
- left / left/lift
How to produce this sound
Open your mouth slightly and keep your tongue in the front-middle of the mouth; make a short relaxed vowel, like in "bed".
Common mix-ups
- bed / bad
- pen / pin
- men / man
- ten / tan
- left / lift
Closest comparison
bed, pen, ten, red, left
Word of the Day
Today's hand-picked vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation page for English. Bookmark this section — it refreshes every day.
Get one new word every morning
Subscribe to SmartWords daily picks. Choose the topics you want — we send one short email per day.
Keep exploring
Play SmartWords games
Six word games built around our real vocabulary — free in the browser, no install.
Open the game hub →-
Word Sling
Match the center word under time pressure and keep the combo alive.
Play now → -
Word Gate
Fly through the correct gate before the speed ramps up.
Play now → -
Word Ninja
Slice the goal-language words, avoid the main-language decoy, and chase the announced bonus target.
Play now → -
Word Zip
Trace a single path across the board, hit each letter anchor in order, and fill every open cell.
Play now → -
Word Oddity
Pick the word that doesn't belong from a topic-driven set — every tap reveals all four meanings and images so the round becomes a flash-card too.
Play now → -
Word Memory
Flip and match goal-language words to their main-language meaning before your lives run out.
Play now →