# Number of words distinguishable only by vowel sounds (in English) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2018, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021 "2018-05-12T00:29:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/1 "2018-05-12T00:29:19Z")
I was idly thinking this morning about b\_d words: [ol] [li]bid[/li][li]bed[/li][li]bad[/li][li]bode[/li][li]bead[/li][li]bod (as in “has a hot bod”)[/li][li]bud[/li][li]bead[/li][li]boo’d (past tense of the verb “to boo”)[/li][li]bide (to "bide ones time)[/li][/ol] That’s 10 words only distinguished by their vowel sounds; is that the maximum in English? Do other languages have more words that have the same consonants but different vowels (and thus different meanings)? Note: I’m not talking about spelling, just pronunciation). Have I missed any “b\_d” words? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/2 "2018-05-12T00:38:02Z")
bade bard buoyed (with the void pronunctiation) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/3 "2018-05-12T00:39:06Z")
1. Bat 2. bait 3. bet 4. beet 5. bit 6. bite 7. bot 8. bout 9. but 10. butte 11. bought (the “gh” is silent) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/4 "2018-05-12T00:46:52Z")
1. Boot 2. byte 3. Bate ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/5 "2018-05-12T00:50:09Z")
Thanks guys (can’t believe I forgot “bade”). “Bard” however, has an “r” sound, so I don’t think it counts. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/6 "2018-05-12T00:53:37Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Thanks guys (can’t believe I forgot “bade”). “Bard” however, has an “r” sound, so I don’t think it counts. In some dialects, there is no “r” sound. You can also use “baaed” (the past tense of the sound a sheep makes) for that sound. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/7 "2018-05-12T01:01:24Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > In some dialects, there is no “r” sound. > You can also use “baaed” (the past tense of the sound a sheep makes) for that sound. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/8 "2018-05-12T01:12:10Z")
Homonyms don’t seem to meet the OP’s definition of “distinguished by their vowel sound” and “different vowels”. So you shouldn’t count both “bite” and “byte”, “bait” and “bate”, nor bad" and “bade” (unless you pronounce “bade” incorrectly). The OP has “bead” listed twice, so there are only 9 words. Rhotic and non-rhotic accents will complicate this, since some speakers will consider a word to have an “r” sound and others won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/9 "2018-05-12T01:19:57Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > The OP has “bead” listed twice, so there are only 9 words. Rats! (I agree that “bite” and “byte” don’t count as two words). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/10 "2018-05-12T01:56:38Z")
Baud, baaed, and bawd, which are hononyms. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/11 "2018-05-12T01:59:06Z")
Would abide, abed, ebbed, and oboed count for your list? Or does the vowel sound have to be exclusively between the b and d? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/12 "2018-05-12T02:07:22Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > …nor bad" and “bade” (unless you pronounce “bade” incorrectly)… Bade can be pronounce bayed, it’s a variant. But in any event, “bayed” is a word with that sound, bay is a verb. With all of these, if we include a range of dialects, there will be more vowel sounds. For example, a strong Boston accent. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/13 "2018-05-12T02:13:09Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Homonyms… > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Baud, baaed, and bawd, which are hononyms. (Homophones, btw) Obviously we’re running into dialect issues here. I agree that baud and bawd are homophones, but in what dialect is baaed (what a sheep did yesterday) pronounced the same? You’re American, right? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/14 "2018-05-12T02:25:00Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > (Homophones, btw) > > Obviously we’re running into dialect issues here. I agree that baud and bawd are homophones, but in what dialect is baaed (what a sheep did yesterday) pronounced the same? You’re American, right? Caught/cot merger, I presume. My American dialect is not part of it, but, roughly, about half of America is part of a dialect where “cot” and “caught” (and other words where “aw” vs “ah” are two different sounds) have the same vowel. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/15 "2018-05-12T02:31:07Z")
In addition to 9 from OP, and buoyed and bade from **Riemann** , we can get an even dozen by including - **bowed** - rhymes with loud (Linguists who treat some 'r’s as part of vowel would have more — Beard, bird, etc. — but OP has banned these.) > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Baud, baaed, and bawd, which are hononyms. OP is asking for words distinguished by vowel sounds, so if these are pronounced identically they don’t count. But I’m not sure they’re identical in all dialects. In fact, even ‘bad’ and ‘bad!’ may have different pronunciations in different contexts. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/16 "2018-05-12T02:34:42Z")
[QUOTE=Andy Rats![/QUOTE] Rates Writs Rights Rots Roots Routs Ruts ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/17 "2018-05-12T02:50:38Z")
bowed (method of playing a string instrument) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/18 "2018-05-12T03:08:17Z")
‘Bede’ is a venerable word. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/19 "2018-05-12T03:10:36Z")
Bede (the Venerable…) Bude (a place name?) ETA: a very slow ninja, but I’m slower than even the slackest ninja. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021/20 "2018-05-12T07:37:02Z")
As a diversion: cough rough bough 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-words-distinguishable-only-by-vowel-sounds-in-english/814021.md?page=2)