A minimal pair is two words that differ by one sound only. If you cannot hear or say that one sound, people may understand a different word from the one you meant: “I need a new ship” is very different from “I need a new sheep”.
Pairs to know
| Pair | IPA | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| ship – sheep | /ʃɪp/ – /ʃiːp/ | short vowel / long vowel |
| bad – bed | /bæd/ – /bed/ | mouth wide / mouth less open |
| think – sink | /θɪŋk/ – /sɪŋk/ | tongue between the teeth / behind them |
| light – right | /laɪt/ – /raɪt/ | tongue touches the ridge / does not touch |
| very – berry | /ˈver.i/ – /ˈber.i/ | teeth on lip / both lips closed |
| chair – share | /tʃeər/ – /ʃeər/ | starts with a stop / smooth air only |
| voice – boys | /vɔɪs/ – /bɔɪz/ | /v/: lower lip touches the upper teeth · /b/: both lips together. Last sound: /s/ · /z/ |
Practice
Each line shows the sounds of a word. Type the word. If you leave a line empty it is not marked.
Press 🔊, listen, and choose the word you heard. Press it again to hear it again. Each time you start, the words are different.
Press 🔊 to hear each sentence. There is no text: drag the word you hear into the gap. The bank has words that do not belong, so listen carefully. On a phone, press and hold a word to drag it, or tap a word and then tap the gap.
Press 🔊 to hear each sentence. There is no text: drag the word you hear into the gap. The bank has words that do not belong, so listen carefully. On a phone, press and hold a word to drag it, or tap a word and then tap the gap.
Press 🔊 to hear each sentence. There is no text: drag the word you hear into the gap. The bank has words that do not belong, so listen carefully. On a phone, press and hold a word to drag it, or tap a word and then tap the gap.
Press 🔊 to hear each sentence. There is no text: drag the word you hear into the gap. The bank has words that do not belong, so listen carefully. On a phone, press and hold a word to drag it, or tap a word and then tap the gap.
Press 🔊 to hear each sentence. There is no text: drag the word you hear into the gap. The bank has words that do not belong, so listen carefully. On a phone, press and hold a word to drag it, or tap a word and then tap the gap.
Press 🔊 to hear each sentence. There is no text: drag the word you hear into the gap. The bank has words that do not belong, so listen carefully. On a phone, press and hold a word to drag it, or tap a word and then tap the gap.