Unexpected English Pronunciation

English spelling and pronunciation don’t always follow logic—especially for learners. In this short video, you’ll hear how some simple-looking word pairs are pronounced very differently, even if they look almost the same.

First example: bread (pronounced bred) versus bead (pronounced beed). They look alike, but their vowels sound completely different. Then comes sew (pronounced so) and few (pronounced fyoo)—again, the spelling offers no clear clue!

These kinds of unpredictable pronunciations are common in English. They come from the language’s long history of borrowing from many other languages. That’s why memorizing pronunciation through listening and speaking is more effective than relying on spelling alone.

The best way to master these quirks is exposure and repetition. Watch the video, repeat after the actors, and train your ears to recognize real English sounds.

Learning pronunciation doesn’t have to be frustrating—it can be fun! Keep practicing with FluentJoy to build confidence and sound more like a native speaker, one word at a time.