Close vowel

A close vowel, also known as a high vowel, is a special vowel sound used in many spoken languages.

Close vowels are made when the tongue moves as close as possible to the roof of the mouth, without touching it. If the tongue touches the roof of the mouth, the sound changes and becomes a consonant.

The word “close” comes from advice by the International Phonetic Association, the group that helps standardize how we describe sounds in language. In some places, like the United States, these sounds are called “high” vowels because the tongue is lifted high in the mouth when we say them.

When studying sounds in a language, high vowels can include sounds that are very close, almost close, or in between close and middle height. This means that close-mid vowels, near-close vowels, and fully close vowels can all be grouped together as high vowels.

Partial list

The International Phonetic Alphabet has special symbols for six close vowel sounds. These are:

• close front unrounded vowel [i]
• close front compressed vowel [y]
• close central unrounded vowel [ɨ]
• close central protruded vowel [ʉ]
• close back unrounded vowel [ɯ]
• close back protruded vowel [u]

Some close vowels do not have their own special symbols. They use extra marks added to nearby vowel symbols. Examples include:

• close front protruded vowel [ʉ̟] (yʷ)
• close central compressed vowel [ÿ] (ɏ)
• close back compressed vowel [ɯᵝ] (u͍)