How to Pronounce Sex vs Six in English

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Hello friends, welcome back! In this video lesson

you will learn how to pronounce the words six and sex in English. Friends,

it can be quite awkward

if you confuse pronunciation of these two words and mispronounce them when speaking in English.

It does happen and it's only normal as you may not have these sounds in your native language.

Together in this video lesson

we'll go through the difference in the pronunciation

of the words sex and six to better help you pronounce them when speaking in English.

Now friends

I do understand that there may be many other words that you're really struggling to pronounce when speaking in

English. Share with us in the comments below this video

which words are you really struggling to pronounce when speaking in English. Looking at the words sex and six

it's no wonder that you are confusing these words when speaking in English. These two words are a minimal pair and they only have one

different sound. In the word six we use the vowel sound i, i.

Found in words such as sit bit and six.

Again, sit, bit and six, but the word sex uses the air sound found in words such as

bed, mess and sex.

Let's move on and focus on the air sound found in the word sex. To make this sound you need to drop your jaw.

Drop your jaw, this part here, slightly like this and place your tongue at the bottom of your mouth slightly

touching your bottom teeth. So just like this.

Then we use our tongue and the front middle part of our mouth to push air out. Watch carefully: e

Notice here how my jaw is dropped and I'm just releasing e.

Make sure that your tongue is wide while you are releasing, while you are pushing air out from your mouth.

Fantastic, let's try practicing using the sound in the word sex again, listen carefully and repeat at loud

sex, sex.

Now let's try to use it in a sentence. Do you have sex education at school?

Do you have sex education at school?

Do you have sex education at school? Or: Is sex education

important? Is sex education important?

Now the word six uses the i sound.

To make this sound you don't need to drop the jaw as much as you do with an e sound.

There's less of a jaw drop.

Now the tip of your tongue is again at the front of your mouth when you produce this sound.

But the difference is that the tongue doesn't stay at the bottom of your teeth, but you lift your tongue up.

You're lifting it up as you're making that sound, watch carefully - i, i.

Notice here that the tongue is not at the tip of the mouth, but it is going up.

The tongue is closer to the roof of the mouth in this vowel.

Again - i i.

Listen and repeat after me:

six

six

six

six

Let's try using this in a few sentences.

Do you have six apples?

Do you have six apples?

six

Six. Notice there's not that much of a jaw drop and also the tongue is going up.

Six, do you have six apples? Yes. I have six apples.

Yes, I have six apples

Six.

Let's take it a level up now and let's try to use these two words in a sentence together.

Listen and repeat after me.

Six hours of sex education.

Six hours of sex education.

Six hours of sex education.

Make sure, friends, that with this word here, six, that you aren't dropping the jaw as much as you would with the word sex.

Sex. Let's try that again now: Six hours of sex education.

Six hours of sex education. Or: Can you teach sex education for six hours?

Can you teach sex education for six hours?

Can you teach sex education for six hours?

Friends, remember to practice, practice makes perfect.

Watch this video lesson a few times, repeat shadowing out loud after me so that you can master the difference in pronunciation

of the words sex and six in English.

Remember friends to join the discussion in the comments below this video and tell me which words are you really struggling to pronounce when

speaking in English. If you liked this video lesson, make sure to like it, hit subscribe and turn on notifications,

so that you get the latest lessons I post here on my youtube channel and be a good friend,

help your friends learning English by sharing this video lesson with them. Thanks for watching,

Thanks for being here, and I look forward to seeing you in the comments below this video.

Bye for now.