American English sound
/eɪ/: how to pronounce the long “a” in say, make and day
/eɪ/ is the vowel in say, make and day. It's a diphthong: the tongue starts at /e/ and glides up toward /ɪ/ in the same syllable.
That glide is the key. Many languages have a pure, steady “e”, and using it in English makes late sound clipped and wait sound close to wet.
/eɪ/
the long “a”
How to make the sound
- 1Start with your tongue in the front of your mouth, mid-high, as for “bed” but a little higher.
- 2Glide your tongue up toward the position of “sit” while your voice continues.
- 3Let your jaw close slightly as you glide.
- 4Make the glide clear, especially at the end of a word: say, day, play.
- Tongue
- mid-front
- Lips
- spread
- Voice
- voiced
Hear it in words
Tap a word to hear it.
At the start
In the middle
At the end
How it's spelled
- a + consonant + e: make, late, name
- ai: rain, wait, paint
- ay: day, play, say
- ea (rare): great, break, steak
- ei / eigh: eight, weigh, neighbor
- ey: they, obey
Common mistakes
No glide: a pure “e”
A steady vowel makes late and wait sound clipped and foreign. Let the tongue rise toward “ih” at the end.
Mixing it up with /ɛ/
Without the glide, wait becomes wet and pain becomes pen. Lengthen the vowel and glide.
Reading the spelling
Great, break and steak use /eɪ/, not the vowel of eat. Learn these three by ear.
Minimal pairs
Each pair differs by one sound. If both words sound the same when you say them, practice this pair.
Try it
“Jake came late to play the game today.”
Record a sentence and get a score for every sound, /eɪ/ included. Free, no account.
Questions
Is /eɪ/ one sound or two?
One vowel that moves: a diphthong. It fills a single syllable, so say has one syllable even though the tongue moves from /e/ to /ɪ/.
Why do some dictionaries write /e/ instead of /eɪ/?
Some write the glide, some don't, but they mean the same American sound. The glide is real, and it's what makes the vowel sound American.