like vs lake: hear and say the difference
like and lake are identical except for one sound: like has the long i, /aɪ/, and lake has the long a, /eɪ/. Both glide up to the same 'ee' ending; long I starts with the jaw wide open on 'ah', long A starts halfway up on 'eh'.
The two words
The difference
What actually changes
Both glide up to the same 'ee' ending; long I starts with the jaw wide open on 'ah', long A starts halfway up on 'eh'.like — /aɪ/
- Lips
- Start open and unrounded, then spread.
- Tongue
- Starts low and central, glides up to the front.
- Jaw
- Starts wide open, closes as the glide finishes.
lake — /eɪ/
- Lips
- Start relaxed, then spread into a small smile.
- Tongue
- Starts at mid front, glides up and forward.
- Jaw
- Starts half open, closes as the glide finishes.
Each word in a sentence
like
I like this one better.
lake
We swam in the lake.
Why this pair is hard
Speakers of Spanish, Italian, German, Mandarin and Japanese usually have both sequences available, so this pair is mostly about spelling — English writes long I as i, igh, y and ie, and long A as a, ai, ay and ei. Turkish and French have no true diphthongs, so both sides need the glide built first.
Straight answers
What is the difference between "like" and "lake"?
One sound. like is /laɪk/ and lake is /leɪk/ — everything else in the two words is identical, so that single contrast carries the whole meaning. Both glide up to the same 'ee' ending; long I starts with the jaw wide open on 'ah', long A starts halfway up on 'eh'.
Why do I say "like" and "lake" the same way?
Speakers of Spanish, Italian, German, Mandarin and Japanese usually have both sequences available, so this pair is mostly about spelling — English writes long I as i, igh, y and ie, and long A as a, ai, ay and ei. Turkish and French have no true diphthongs, so both sides need the glide built first.
Should I train my ear or my mouth first?
Your ear. If you cannot reliably hear which word was said, your mouth has no target to aim at, and drilling produces a sound you cannot check. Run the listening test on this page until you are scoring four or five out of five, then record the pair.
Say "like" and "lake" and see which one you said
One take covers both words: reference mode aligns each sound against its target, so the contrast comes back scored on both sides. Free, private, in your browser.