seat · sheet7/20
Which word did you hear?
Real clips from the app. Turn your sound on.
Hear both words in 10 voices
Each row is one speaker saying both words. Play one, then the other, and switch to slow when the difference hides.
seat
US IPA: /sit/
sheet
US IPA: /ʃit/
Speed
- American woman, younger
- American woman, older
- American man, younger
- American man, older
- British woman, younger
- British woman, older
- British man, younger
- British man, older
- Australian woman
- Australian man
What's different
You can feel the difference too. Say seat, and the lips stay spread from the s through the ee. Say sheet, and they push forward for the sh first, then spread for the ee.
Japanese keeps one meaning of sheet apart: a bed sheet is シーツ, from the plural sheets, while a seat is シート. In English, only the first sound differs: a thin, high hiss for seat, and a lower, wider "shh" for sheet.
Studies: Lambacher et al. 2001 · Thomson 2018
Listen for
S is a thin, high hiss. SH is deeper and wider.
Start hearing the difference.
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