Pronouncing the Spanish E Sound

Pronouncing the Spanish E Sound The Spanish vowel e has a sound that can vary depending on its location in a word. Its pronunciation also varies somewhat among various regions and even with individual speakers. Pronouncing the Spanish E The most common sound for e is much like the English e sound in word such as test and wrench. This sound is especially common when the e is located between two consonants. Sometimes, the e is similar to the vowel sound in English words such as say - but shorter. Some explanation is in order here. If you listen carefully, you may notice that for many English speakers the vowel sound in say is made up of two sounds  - theres an eh sound that glides into an ee sound, so the word is pronounced something like seh-ee. When pronouncing the Spanish e, only the eh sound is used - theres no glide into an ee sound. (In fact, if you pronounce the glide, it becomes the Spanish diphthong ei rather than e. As one native speaker using the nickname Didi explained in our forum: As a native Id say that the most accurate pronunciation for that e sound is like that in bet or met. The sound of ace has an extra vowel sound that makes it unsuitable. The variable nature of the e sound also was explained well in this forum post by Mim100: The simple vowel e can be rendered anywhere across a range of tongue heights, from roughly mid-low (or mid-open), resembling what you hear as por-KEH, to mid-high (or mid-closed), resembling what you hear as por-KAY. The key feature of the simple vowel e is that it is pronounced somewhere within that range of tongue height and that the tongue does not change height or shape during the course of pronouncing the vowel. Standard Spanish does not distinguish between words based on how open or closed the vowel e happens to be pronounced. You may hear a more open pronunciation more often in closed syllables (syllables that end in a consonant), and you may hear a more closed pronunciation more often in open syllables (syllables that end in a vowel). All this may make the pronunciation sound a bit more difficult than it is. Pay attention to how you hear native speakers pronounce the vowel and youll soon have it mastered. Phrases pronounced by native speakers in this​ audio lesson on pronouncing the e are  ¿Cà ³mo est usted? Muy bien, gracias,  ¿y usted? Buenos dà ­as, seà ±or and Hola,  ¿quà © tal?