A diphthong (sliding vowel) is a sound where your mouth starts at one position and smoothly moves to another — like gliding! English has 8 of these sounds.
Think of it like this: Normal vowels are a single steady sound. Sliding vowels move — your lips and tongue glide during the sound. The first part of the sound is usually the strongest. Click any card below to hear the sound!
/eɪ/
face
closing
/aɪ/
price
closing
/ɔɪ/
choice
closing
/aʊ/
mouth
closing
/əʊ/
goat
closing
/ɪə/
near
centring
/eə/
square
centring
/ʊə/
cure
centring
👆 Click any card to hear the sound
How to Make the Sound
How to Make Each Sliding Sound
Each sliding vowel has a starting point and an ending point. Move your mouth smoothly — do not stop in the middle! Listen and try to copy what you hear.
Listen to each group, then record yourself. Your mouth must physically move as you speak — that glide is the whole point of a diphthong!
Closing diphthongs — your mouth closes as you say them:
Centring diphthongs — your mouth glides toward the middle:
Tip: Touch your chin lightly and say "face" slowly — feel your jaw drop then rise. That jaw movement IS the diphthong. No movement = wrong sound!
Sentence Practice
Diphthongs in Sentences
Diphthongs are highlighted in green. Listen, then repeat the whole sentence.
The price of the day trip was too high.
I know the boy from my home town.
She came to the square and found a coin.
The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain.
Grow your own food and flowers in the ground.
She feared the noise from outside her home.
My hair is too dry — I need a cure!
The light in the sky was bright at night.
The phone on the road was covered in snow.
My dear friend, I have a clear idea.
Challenge — Listen Fast!
Hear Them in Fast Speech!
When people speak at normal speed, sliding vowels are still there but go by quickly! Listen to these sentences at normal speed, then slow — can you spot the sliding sounds?
Normal speed
"What time are you going home today?"
Normal speed
"I found out the price had gone down."
Challenge
"The boy joined the choir on a rainy day."
Challenge 2
"She drove past the tower on her way home."
Challenge: How many sliding vowel sounds are in sentence 3? Count them! (Answer: boy /ɔɪ/, joined /ɔɪ/, rainy /eɪ/, day /eɪ/ — at least 4!) Challenge 2: In sentence 4 — drove /əʊ/, tower /aʊ/, way /eɪ/, home /əʊ/ — that is 4 sliding sounds!
Quiz
Quiz Time!
Let's check what you remember about sliding vowels. Pick the best answer!
