I am wondering about the long vowel _e_ , and whether it is _-ee_ or _-ei_.
Let's use _hē_ as an example, is _hē_ written as へい or へえ?
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2017-09-07T20:56:49.533
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hiragana spelling rōmaji
Hiragana - Long vowel e (ei or ee)
Long vowel E is usually written using い, so, へい is correct. There are some
exceptions where it is written with え such as ねえさん、but these are exceptions to
the rule, and don't change pronunciation.

There are also a few other ways the vowel can be written as extended:
sometimes the ー mark will be used just as in katakana, and sometimes a smaller
え is used, for example when ending a sentence with ねぇ. However, again, these
are exceptions, so it's best to assume that the vowel is extended with い.
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2017-09-07T23:34:24.997
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The proper way to write the extended え-sound (hē, in your question) would
usually be written as へい. In casual writings though most people don't make
such a distinction.

Read the [explanation for long sound
here](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ch%C5%8Donpu).
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2017-09-18T01:42:29.523
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In theory, “ええ” and “えい” are two distinct phonemic segments, mapping to /ee/
and /ei/ respectively.

In practice, however, the latter is often pronounced as the former, even in
increasingly formal contexts, but theoretically they are distinct. — we are
currently witnessing the middle of a phonemic merger in a language. As time
goes on, one would expect the /ei/ pronunciation to sound increasingly more
outdated, until it is considered completely incorrect, and the segments have
completely merged.

Thus, “えい” can always be pronounced as “ええ”, but not _vice versā_.

This rule does not apply across morpheme boundaries; across morpheme
boundaries, such as in the common “している”, it must always be pronounced /ei/.

Thus “ええ” is the correct “long e”.

It should also be said that phonemically Japanese does not have “long vowels”
which are a phonetic realization if successive identical vowels, or, in some
analyses a vowel an a chroneme. The underlying form of [e:] can either be
analysed as /ee/ or /eR/ depending on whom one speaks to, never as /e:/, which
is applicable to, say, Latin, which has a true distinction between short and
long vowels.

[This discussion](https://www.japan-
guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+130884) provides some insight from some
native speakers on the matter.
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