How to Pronounce SEX vs. SIX - American English

In this American English pronunciation video, we´re going to go over the difference in the words "six" and "sex"

This minimal pair has only one differerent sound and it´s the vowel sound

Since "sex" can be a sensitive word, this is probably a minimal pair you want to master

Thanks so much for the suggestion

The two vwel sound are the "i" as in "sit" vowel and the "e" as in "bed" vowel

For the "e" vowel like in "sex" the jaw drops more

The tongue tip is forward and down, lightly touching the back of the bottom front teeth

The front middle part lifts towards the roof of the mouth and the middle of the tongue should be wider as it lifts

The "i" vowel like in "six" has less jaw drop.

The tip is in the same place , but the front part arches up, towards the roof of the mouth

The tongue is closer to the roof of the mouth in this vowel.

Let´s take a look at a picture comparing the two sounds

Notice how the jaw is more dropped for the "eh" vowel like in "sex"

The tongue is closer to the roof of the mouth for the "i" vowel like in "six"

Practice with me

Eh Ih Eh Ih

now let´s look at the two words up close and slowmotion

The corners of the mouth pull wide for the s

The jaw drops more for the eh in sex

The front part lifts towards the roof of the mouth for the ih vowel in six

Again from the front

Compare the jaw drop

Six

Sex

I hope this video has made the difference in these two words clear

If there´s a word comparison you´d like to see, put it in the comments below

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