Vowels 1 and 16, /i/ and /aʊ/ - 154 pairs

The common spellings of /i/ are in evidence, along with <ie> in niece . The /aʊ/ diphthong is always spelled <ow> and <ou> in this list, except in the case of the loan-word Frau .

This contrast would be very unlikely to cause any problems for learners.

Interesting pairs include:

breeze browse
feel foul
teasel tousle
unweaned unwound

The mean density value is 2.4%. The number of semantic contrasts is 83, a loading of 52%.

      alee allow
      B bough
        B's boughs
      B bow
        B's bows
      be bough
      be bow
        being bowing
      bead bowed
      beat bout
        beats bouts
      bee bough
        bees boughs
      bee bow
        bees bows
      beet bout
        beets bouts
      breeze brows
      breeze browse
        breezed browsed
        breezes browses
        breezing browsing
      C sow
        C's sows
      cease souse
        ceased soused
        ceases souses
        ceasing sousing
      cheese chows
      clean clown 
        cleaned clowned
        cleaning clowning
        cleans clowns
      cleat clout
        cleats clouts
      creed crowd
        creeds crowds
      D dhow
        D's dhows
      dean down
        deans downs
      each ouch
      east oust
      eat out
        eater outer
        eating outing
        eats outs
      eel owl
        eels owls
      feel foul
        feeler fouler
        feeling fouling
        feels fouls
      feel fowl
        feeler fowler
        feelers fowlers
        feeling fowling
        feels fowls
      field fouled
      field fowled
      fiend found
        fiends founds
      fleet flout
        fleeting flouting
        fleets flouts
      free Frau 
      grease grouse
        greased groused
        greases grouses
        greasing grousing
      he how
      heal howl
        healed howled
        healer howler
        healers howlers
        healing howling
        heals howls
      heel howl
        heeled howled
        heeling howling
        heels howls
      indeed endowed 
      keel cowl 
        keeling cowling 
        keels cowls 
      key cow 
        keyed cowed 
        keying cowing 
        keys cows
      knee now
      lead loud
        leader louder
      lease louse
      lied lout
        lieder louder
      me mow
      mead mowed
      Meath mouth
      meed mowed
      mi mow
      neat knout 
      Nice nous
      niece nous
      peach pouch
        peached pouched
        peaches pouches
        peaching pouching
      peat pout
      Pete pout
      plea plough
        pleas ploughs
      plead ploughed
      please ploughs
      quay cow
      quays cows
      re row
      read rowed
      reed rowed
      reedy rowdy
        reedier rowdier
        reediest rowdiest
      sea sow
        seas sows
      see sow
        sees sows
      seize sows
      sheet shout
        sheeted shouted
        sheeting shouting
        sheets shouts
      skeet scout 
        skeets scouts 
      ski scow 
        skis scows 
      skier scour 
        skiers scours 
      teasel tousle
        teasels tousles
      teat tout
        teats touts
      teen town
        teens towns
      teeny townee
      thee thou
      treat trout
      unweaned unwound
      V vow
        V's vows
      we wow
      weaned wound
      wee wow
        wees wows
      wheeze wows
      yield yowled