The Five Short Vowel Sounds

The vowels are a, e, i, o, and u. Almost every word has at least one. Each vowel has a short sound you hear in many little words. Short a says /a/ as in apple. Short e says /e/ as in egg. Short i says /i/ as in itch. Short o says /o/ as in octopus.

Short u says /u/ as in up. Look at 'bag', 'beg', 'big', 'bog', and 'bug'. Only the middle vowel changes, but each one is a different word. That shows how much the vowel matters. Listen closely to the middle of a word to hear its vowel.

• 1The vowels are a, e, i, o, u.
• 2Each vowel has a short sound.
• 3Changing the vowel changes the word.