14. English Vowel Length: The Short Words Secret
When a vowel comes before a voiced consonant, we hold it longer—almost twice as long.
This length is a key acoustic signal that helps listeners tell words apart, especially in short pairs like back/bag or life/live.
Giving vowels more “time” or “stretch” may feel unfamiliar at first.
You might notice your mouth wants to give all vowels the same amount of time.
But in English, holding a vowel just a little longer before a voiced consonant is key—and yes, it might feel a little funny at first.
That’s okay! It means you’re doing something new and intentional.
With focused practice, this new rhythm will start to feel more natural in your speech.
There are 15 voiced consonants in English, but the most common final voiced sounds are:
/d/, /g/, /b/, /v/ and /z/ (as in dogs or lives—where s sounds like /z/).
The SHORT WORDS SECRET Training
The following exercises combine listening, shadowing, and gradually increasing complexity to help you internalize new sounds and rhythm patterns in your spoken English.
Level 1 is available to all visitors. CEA members unlock the complete training.
Goal: Hear and produce each vowel sound clearly in single words.
- Listen to the minimal pair words. Can you hear the longer vowel sound?
- Say the words with me, keeping each sound clear and distinct.
- Record yourself saying the pairs. Then listen back—do your vowels sound longer in front a VOICED Ending Consonant?
Mini Challenge: “Flood” the words in each column (say all of one column in a row). Can you keep the vowel sound consistent from top to bottom?
SHORT WORDS SECRET - Minimal Pairs
-
VOICELESS Ending Consonant
-
VOICED Ending Consonant
-
bet
-
bed
-
life
-
live
-
use (noun)
-
use (verb)
-
back
-
bag
-
race
-
raise
-
safe
-
save
-
neat
-
need
In short, often one-syllable words, if the final consonant is voiced, you need to give the vowel a little more time. It’s gonna be a little longer.
That extra time on vowel is what makes the word clear and distinct.
Below you’ll find a list of 50 “Short Words Secret” words organized for easy practice.
(Clear English Academy members will also find audio recordings for these words plus guided practice at the sentence level.)
Voiceless /t/ vs. Voiced /d/
neat / need
site / side
heart / hard
built / build
spent / spend
bat / bad
kit / kid
at / add
bet / bed
hat / had
mate / made
Watch for these common words too: good, head, red, lead, read, food, road, blood
Voiceless /f/ vs. Voiced /v/
half / have
life / live
safe / save
surf / serve
leaf / leave
belief / believe
fife / five
Watch for these common words too: give, move, love, drive
Voiceless /s/ vs. Voiced /z/
use / use (v)
loose / lose
race / raise
face / phase
close / close (v)
this / these
dose / those
noose / news
niece / knees
bus / buzz
advice / advise
ice / eyes
lice / lies
Watch for these common words too: whose, cause, choose
Voiceless /p/ vs. Voiced /b/
cap / cab
rope / robe
Voiceless /k/ vs. Voiced /g/
back / bag
pick / pig
bucks / bugs
dock / dog
duck / dug
back / big
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