I is the ninth letter of the alphabet.
The letter. I makes a number of sounds. The sound heard in pin and still is the short I. The long I is heard in words like file and time. The sound of long I is indicated by the symbol 1. Letter I also makes the schwa sound, which is indicated. by the symbol a, in words like giraffe, and stencil. I sometimes sounds like a long E, such as in ski and marine, and like a Y in words like onion and million. I makes dif- ferent sounds when combined with other letters, such as the long E sound in piece and debris, and the schwa sound in special, spaniel, and notion. In some words I is. silent, such as in juice.