Minimal Pair /e/ and /eɪ/
Below is a list of words that vary only by one having the vowel sound /e/ and the other the vowel sound /eɪ/.
You can use this list to practise the sounds, or as a list of words to be careful in pronouncing.
/e/ is a short single sound that is pronounced without your mouth moving, whereas /eɪ/ is a diphthong (a merging of two sounds) and your mouth gets smaller as you are making the sound.
Elementary
wet wait
Pre-Intermediate
bed bade
bread braid
fell fail
get gate
L ale
let late
M aim
pen pain
rest raced
S ace
sell sale
tech take
test taste
well whale
west waist
Intermediate
best based
chess chase
debt date
edge age
etch H
gel jail
led laid
lens lanes
men main
met mate
pent paint
pled played
set sate
sex sakes
special spatial
tell tale
trend trained
when wane
wren rain
X aches
Upper-Intermediate
beck bake
bell bail
bet bait
bled blade
breast braced
fed fade
fret freight
hell hail
red raid
sent saint
shed shade
shell shale
sped spade
tent taint
tread trade
wed wade
wedge wage
wreck rake
Advanced
betted bated
dell dale
den deign
fen feign
fend feigned
fez phase
fleck flake
fled flayed
heck hake
hex hakes
ken cane
less lace
lest laced
mess mace
pest paste
phlegm flame
rend rained
stead stayed
vend veined
wend waned