Asked • 03/19/19

What words have “‑ei‑” (except in “‑cei‑”) pronounced [i:]?

The rule is that written *ei* is pronounced [i:] only after the letter *c* — or that what is pronounced [i:] is written *ei* after the letter *c* only. Here are exceptions I’ve found so far: - *foreign* (possibly) - *seizure* - *either* (possibly) - *neither* (possibly) - *weird* - *being* - *seizure* Can you add more exceptions to this list? --- **Update:** I am not so much interested in differences of pronunciation between dialects of English as I am in helpful (for me) mnemonics for written English. **Update 2:** Once more, this question is not on orthography but on mnemonics to help in writing. If you know other helpful mnemonics to deal with spelling words with *‑ie‑* and *‑ei‑*, you are welcome to answer this question.

Alyssa F.

There's an old rhyme for remembers when you use e-i and when to use i-e: "i before e except after c, or when pronounced "ay" as in "neighbor" and "weigh." Unfortunately, since English is made of up words from dozens of different languages, this is not a hard and fast rule. There are exceptions (as there are very every spelling "rule"), such as leisure, eight, and forfeit.
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10/31/19

Elizabeth F.

Alyssa is correct: it is the fact that English draws from many linguistic roots that makes it so complicated. One key issue here is with words that come from German, as English is a Germanic language and American English contents words with the "ie" and "ei" patterns. In German, you "pronounce" the last of the two vowels, so if you know how the word is pronounced, you have the key to the spelling. For example: "poltergeist." The "i" is pronounced, so it is the "ei" pattern. In "blitzkrieg" the "e" is pronounced, hence the "ie" pattern. I *HIGHLY* doubt you are using "poltergeist" and "blitzkrieg" in your everyday conversations (if you are, you are having some very cool conversations!), but these two German words that remain in their original form in English are examples of how spelling patterns eked into our language.
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11/08/19

1 Expert Answer

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Rebecca B. answered • 11/08/19

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Some words I found were: albeit, Beirut, Beijing, beige, deity, freight, feign, feisty, Freiburg, heist, leisure, meiosis, neighbor, reiterate, reinforce/reinstate/reinstall, reincarnation, reindeer, seize, seismic, seitan, vein, weight.

I found these by typing in google the first letter, adding "ei," and looking at the auto-complete choices. Hope it helps.

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