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vowel

noun
🔊/ˈvaʊəl/
🔊/ˈvaʊəl/
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  1. (phonetics语音学) a speech sound in which the mouth is open and the tongue is not touching the top of the mouth, the teeth, etc., so that the flow of air is not limited, for example /ɑː, e, ɔː/元音
    • vowel sounds元音
    • Each language has a different vowel system.每种语言都有不同的元音系统。🔊🔊
    • This neutral vowel is known as ‘schwa’.这个中元音叫做schwa。
    see also cardinal vowel
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • long
    • short
    • open
    • …
    verb + vowel
    • begin with
    • contain
    • end in
    • …
    vowel + noun
    • sound
    • length
    • system
    • …
    See full entry
  2. a letter that represents a vowel sound. In English the vowels are a, e, i, o and u.元音字母Topics Languagea2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • long
    • short
    • open
    • …
    verb + vowel
    • begin with
    • contain
    • end in
    • …
    vowel + noun
    • sound
    • length
    • system
    • …
    See full entry
    3. compare consonant see also diphthong
    Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French vouel, from Latin vocalis (littera) ‘vocal (letter)’.