いいえ
いいえ · iie · JLPT N5 · expression
no
Sounds like ee-eh: a drawn-out eeeh... of polite refusal
いいえ is three beats: i-i-e. The long ii glides into a short e, like a hesitant eeeh before turning something down. It is the formal no; its casual cousin is いや (iya), and the opposite is はい (hai).