Minimal pairs are pairs of words that differ by only one sound: ship and sheep, berry and very. They are one of the best ways to train your ear to hear the difference between two English sounds, and then to produce that difference yourself. Tap any contrast below to see only the words from those pairs.
More about these minimal pairs
The contrasts are divided into vowel contrasts and consonant contrasts. The most common problem contrasts for learners, such as /ɪ/ vs /iː/ and /l/ vs /r/, have the longest lists of pairs.
Some pairs here only work in American English. Because American English is rhotic (the letter r is pronounced after a vowel), the /ɝ/ vs /ɑr/ contrast gives pairs like hurt and heart. And because o in words like hot is pronounced with unrounded /ɑ/, a sound much closer to /ʌ/ than the British rounded vowel, pairs like cut and cot or luck and lock are especially easy to confuse in American English and well worth practising.
