Ship vs Sheep – /ɪ/ vs /iː/
Spanish speakers often pronounce both sounds like Spanish "i".
English has two different sounds:
/ɪ/ = short (ship) — relaxed, short
/iː/ = long (sheep) — longer, tense, smiling
1. ship vs sheep
ship /ʃɪp/
sheep /ʃiːp/
The ship is small. / The sheep are white.
live /lɪv/
leave /liːv/
I live here. / I leave early.
sit /sɪt/
seat /siːt/
Please sit. / Take a seat.
fill /fɪl/
feel /fiːl/
Fill the form. / I feel good.
ship /ʃɪp/
cheap /tʃiːp/
The ship is big. / It is cheap.
2. Minimal pairs
bit /bɪt/
beat /biːt/
fit /fɪt/
feet /fiːt/
hit /hɪt/
heat /hiːt/
rid /rɪd/
read /riːd/
slip /slɪp/
sleep /sliːp/
chip /tʃɪp/
cheap /tʃiːp/
list /lɪst/
least /liːst/
rich /rɪtʃ/
reach /riːtʃ/
lick /lɪk/
leak /liːk/
bin /bɪn/
bean /biːn/
3. Spanish speaker tip
Spanish has only one sound like i → "si" "mi" "vino" English has two:
/ɪ/ short — relaxed — mouth slightly open
/iː/ long — smile — longer sound
Practice:
ship ship ship
sheep sheep sheep
live live live
leave leave leave
sit sit sit
seat seat seat
4. Most important pairs
ship
sheep
live
leave
sit
seat
fill
feel
bit
beat
fit
feet
slip
sleep
chip
cheap
rich
reach
bin
bean