Minimal pairs: which word did you hear?
A minimal pair is two words that differ by one sound, like ship and sheep. Listen, choose the word you heard, then check how the two sounds differ.
Practice
Ten questions a round and three lives. Replay as often as you need: careful listening matters more than speed. In the mixed ladder, a new contrast joins every two rounds.
Short i or long ee · Which word did you hear?
Press 1 or 2 to answer, R or Space to replay, and Enter to continue.
Run finished
The sounds in this game
Every recording and IPA transcription uses General American English. Other accents may pronounce a word differently; that is a real accent difference, not a learner's mistake. The game deliberately leaves out pairs that merge in General American and words whose spelling could make an isolated recording ambiguous.
Short i or long ee /ɪ/ and /iː/
Sheep has a closer, tenser vowel; ship has a more relaxed vowel. Typical length helps, but vowel quality differs too.
| Word | IPA | Word | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| ship | /ʃɪp/ | sheep | /ʃiːp/ |
| bit | /bɪt/ | beat | /biːt/ |
| sit | /sɪt/ | seat | /siːt/ |
| hill | /hɪl/ | heel | /hiːl/ |
| fill | /fɪl/ | feel | /fiːl/ |
| lip | /lɪp/ | leap | /liːp/ |
O as in hot or A as in hat /ɑː/ and /æ/
For bottle, open your mouth wide with your tongue low and back, as when a doctor asks you to say ah. For battle, drop your jaw and keep your tongue low and forward.
| Word | IPA | Word | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| bottle | /ˈbɑːtəl/ | battle | /ˈbætəl/ |
| hot | /hɑːt/ | hat | /hæt/ |
| top | /tɑːp/ | tap | /tæp/ |
| cop | /kɑːp/ | cap | /kæp/ |
| mop | /mɑːp/ | map | /mæp/ |
L or R /l/ and /r/
For L, touch the tip of your tongue behind your top teeth. For R, pull the tongue back and keep it from touching anything.
| Word | IPA | Word | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| light | /laɪt/ | right | /raɪt/ |
| lock | /lɑːk/ | rock | /rɑːk/ |
| lane | /leɪn/ | rain | /reɪn/ |
| glass | /ɡlæs/ | grass | /ɡræs/ |
| long | /lɔːŋ/ | wrong | /rɔːŋ/ |
TH or S /θ/ and /s/
For TH, put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth and let the air flow. For S, keep your tongue behind your teeth.
| Word | IPA | Word | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| think | /θɪŋk/ | sink | /sɪŋk/ |
| thank | /θæŋk/ | sank | /sæŋk/ |
| thing | /θɪŋ/ | sing | /sɪŋ/ |
| mouth | /maʊθ/ | mouse | /maʊs/ |
A as in cat or E as in bed /æ/ and /ɛ/
For the vowel in bad, open your mouth wider and drop your jaw. For the vowel in bed, open it less.
| Word | IPA | Word | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| bad | /bæd/ | bed | /bɛd/ |
| bat | /bæt/ | bet | /bɛt/ |
| pack | /pæk/ | peck | /pɛk/ |
| sad | /sæd/ | said | /sɛd/ |
V or B /v/ and /b/
For V, rest your top teeth on your bottom lip and let the air flow. For B, press both lips together and release.
| Word | IPA | Word | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| very | /ˈvɛri/ | berry | /ˈbɛri/ |
| vest | /vɛst/ | best | /bɛst/ |
| van | /væn/ | ban | /bæn/ |
| vote | /voʊt/ | boat | /boʊt/ |
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