English Words with Weak /ɪ/ at the Beginning
These words begin with a weak unstressed /ɪ/ sound, usually in prefixes like de-, re-, and be-. The stress is usually on the second syllable. The weak beginning sound is highlighted below.
1. Words beginning with de- pronounced /dɪ/
develop
de-velop /dɪˈveləp/
development
de-vel-op-ment /dɪˈveləpmənt/
depend
de-pend /dɪˈpend/
decide
de-cide /dɪˈsaɪd/
deliver
de-liv-er /dɪˈlɪvə/
describe
de-scribe /dɪˈskraɪb/
design
de-sign /dɪˈzaɪn/
desire
de-sire /dɪˈzaɪə/
demand
de-mand /dɪˈmɑːnd/
delay
de-lay /dɪˈleɪ/
2. Words beginning with re- pronounced /rɪ/
receive
re-ceive /rɪˈsiːv/
response
re-sponse /rɪˈspɒns/
respond
re-spond /rɪˈspɒnd/
return
re-turn /rɪˈtɜːn/
repeat
re-peat /rɪˈpiːt/
replace
re-place /rɪˈpleɪs/
remove
re-move /rɪˈmuːv/
repair
re-pair /rɪˈpeə/
reduce
re-duce /rɪˈdjuːs/
report
re-port /rɪˈpɔːt/
3. Words beginning with be- pronounced /bɪ/
begin
be-gin /bɪˈɡɪn/
become
be-come /bɪˈkʌm/
believe
be-lieve /bɪˈliːv/
belong
be-long /bɪˈlɒŋ/
beneath
be-neath /bɪˈniːθ/
beside
be-side /bɪˈsaɪd/
between
be-tween /bɪˈtwiːn/
before
be-fore /bɪˈfɔː/
behind
be-hind /bɪˈhaɪnd/
behave
be-have /bɪˈheɪv/
4. Business and academic words in the same pattern
decision
de-ci-sion /dɪˈsɪʒən/
department
de-part-ment /dɪˈpɑːtmənt/
request
re-quest /rɪˈkwest/
review
re-view /rɪˈvjuː/
relation
re-la-tion /rɪˈleɪʃən/
beginning
be-gin-ning /bɪˈɡɪnɪŋ/
delivery
de-liv-er-y /dɪˈlɪvəri/
replacement
re-place-ment /rɪˈpleɪsmənt/
removal
re-mov-al /rɪˈmuːvəl/
belief
be-lief /bɪˈliːf/
Most useful words (Top 10)
develop
/dɪˈveləp/
receive
/rɪˈsiːv/
response
/rɪˈspɒns/
depend
/dɪˈpend/
decide
/dɪˈsaɪd/
return
/rɪˈtɜːn/
replace
/rɪˈpleɪs/
begin
/bɪˈɡɪn/
become
/bɪˈkʌm/
before
/bɪˈfɔː/