Spelling list: y words

In English, the long /e/ is an open stretched-out way of pronouncing vowels. Imagine saying be, tree, or sheep slowly – that's the sound. This sound is written in different ways, but when it's at the end of a word, we often use the letter y to spell it.

You might notice that sometimes this sound isn't very strong. In some cases, it might even sound like the short /i/ sound you hear in words like sit. This happens because pronunciations sometimes vary depending on accent.

If you're not sure what the long /e/ sounds like, you can click the speaker icon to listen to examples. It's important to understand how this sound works to improve your understanding of English and spelling.

angry	My friend is angry with me.
army	My brother joined the army this year. *
baby	The baby gave a loud wail.
berry	The holly berry is bright red.
body	The liver is the largest organ inside the body. *
cherry	Would you like a cherry with your ice-cream?
copy	Please email me a copy of your report.
curry	How much curry powder shall I use?
duty	The doctor is on night duty this week.
empty	I wandered through the empty streets.
every	Jack goes swimming every Saturday.
family	The family opened a bank account.
hungry	I feel hungry at lunch time. *
lady	The lady wore a red hat.
marry	They plan to marry in the summer.
party	Will Jeff invite us to his party?
sorry	I'm sorry to hear you are ill.
memory	My memory for spelling is getting better.
penalty	Sam always bluffs when he takes a penalty. *
injury	The injury left a scar.