Midsagittal tongue shapes for sustained English hi and IM sounds between native speakers of American English (AE) and Japanese were compared using [he Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technique. The hi sound as produced by AE speakers was characterized by a constriction at the anterior pan of the hard palate and the existence of a sublingual cavity, and for /I/ sounds, apical contact to the front teeth and/or alveolar ridge, and the absence of the sublingual cavity. For Japanese speakers, strategies to form the tongue shape contrast between hi and /I/ productions were categorized into four types depending on the type of contact/constriction and presence/absence of the sublingual cavity. The first type showed a pattern of tongue shape similar to AE speakers. The second and third types were characterized by hi and 11/ oriented production, respectively, for both sounds. In the last type, the distinction between hi and IV was formed only by the absence or presence of apical contact, while a sublingual cavity was produced iot both sounds. These types are discussed in the context of a perceptual evaluation and an acoustical analysis.