Learn how to pronounce the words CLOSE & CLOSE with this American English heteronym pronunciation lesson. Heteronyms are words that are spelled exactly the same. They just have a different pronunciation and a different meaning.

Pronunciation:

/kloʊs/

/kloʊz/

Definitions:

Near

To shut

Transcript:

Hi there! Jennifer from Tarle speech with your heteronym lesson. I recorded a video a little bit ago about the word bow and bow and then I thought, oh, I should have added what happens when you add an ed to that. So here you go!

So our heteronym today is bowed which means to bend over and bowed which means bent. Oh my goodness! So confusing!

So we have bowed to bend over and bowed would mean bent or crooked. So to say these words correctly we’re going to start with that b sound- B. Lips are closed. They pop open. Air puffs out. Voice box on and moving.

We are going to end with a d for both of these words. To do that, touch the tip of the tongue to the spot where the teeth meet the skin on the roof of your mouth, air Puffs out, voice box is on and moving.

Now for the word bowed, we are going to add an ow. And to do this, you’re going to open in a really Wide Circle. Move to puckered lips – ow. As you do that, the tip of your tongue is low, back of the tongue is pulled high up, and then it ends in the middle – ow.

And then for the O, you’re going to have your mouth in more of an oval shape – o, and then you’re going to move to that pucker. When your mouth is in more of an oval shape, same thing, tip of the tongue is down, back of the tongue is pulled high up, and then you move to a flat tongue – o.

So we have ow which is round open to a pucker;
and o which is Oval open move to a pucker.

Let’s put these all together:
bowed bowed bowed
bowed bowed bowed
bowed bowed
bowed bowed

And now for a sentence:
The old man with bowed legs bowed to the queen.

Give it a try people will notice the difference! If you found this helpful, please share us with your friends, give us a like, don’t forget to subscribe, and if you have questions or need help, check us out at Tarle Speech.

Thanks everyone have a great weekend!