What are minimal pairs and how can they help me with pronunciation?
Do you struggle to pronounce certain vowels sounds in English? English vowels can be tricky to distinguish and this results in many commonly confused vowels and misunderstandings. What can help? Practicing with commonly confused minimal pairs can help you isolate the sounds you struggle with. Minimal pairs are two words that are pronounced almost in the same way, but they have one sound that makes them different, a vowel or a consonant.
If you learn to distinguish minimal pairs by practicing them back to back, you can really improve your English pronunciation. Learning to hear the difference between minimal pairs is also a great way to become a better English listener. Most importantly, by practicing the following minimal pairs, you can learn to avoid common mistakes and misunderstandings when communicating in English.
Commonly confused vowels: /æ/ vs. /e/
Notice how the mouth is more open in /æ/ and more narrow for /e/
- Annie any
- gnats nets
- axes X’s
- knack neck
- rack wreck
- bad bed
- bag beg
- madly medley
- sad said
- ban Ben
- sand send
- slapped slept
- bat bet
- mat met
- paddle pedal
- batter better
- pan pen
- tamper temper
- bland blend
- pack peck
- than then
- fanatic phonetic
Confused vowels: /i:/ vs. /I/
Notice how /i:/ is longer and is produced with a wider mouth position while the /I/ sounds shorter and is pronounced with a narrower mouth position.
- beach bitch* (swear word in English)
- beat bit
- cheap chip
- cheek chick
- deal dill
- each itch
- feel fill
- gene gin
- green grin
- keen kin
- lead lid
- leak lick
- leave live
- meal mill
- peach pitch
- peak pick
- reach rich
- scene sin
- seat sit
Commonly mixed up: /oʊ/ vs. /aʊ/
Take note of how the lips are rounded and then becomes smaller to pronounce /oʊ/ while the /aʊ/ starts in a wide positions that then narrows to a more rounded position
- arose arouse
- phoned found
- boat bout
- pro prow
- hole howl
- hose house
- crowed crowd
- coach couch
- so sow
- tone town
- sews sows
- groaned ground
Commonly confused vowels: /oʊ/ vs. /ɔ/
Notice how the lips start in a larger rounded position and then become smaller for /oʊ/ while the mouth is consistently rounded in a medium position for the /ɔ/ sound.
- bowl ball
- so saw
- drone drawn
- note nought
- close claws
- foal fall
- Low law
- drone drawn
- goal gall
- oat ought
- sew saw
- tote taught
- choke chalk
- close claws
Commonly confused vowels: /oʊ/ vs. /ɔːr/
Notice how the mouth starts in a larger rounded position and then becomes smaller for /oʊ/ while the mouth starts in a medium rounded position and then widen slightly for /ɔːr/. The tip of your tongue should be pulled back in the middle of the /ɔːr/ pronunciation.
- folk fork
- Know nor
- mow more
- poke pork
- show sure
- chose chores
- doe door
- dome dorm
- doze doors
- foe four
- go gore
- know nor
- moaning morning
- owe or
- snow snore
- stow store
Need help?
Still not sure if you’re pronouncing those sounds correctly? Do you need some feedback on your pronunciation to determine if you’re on the right track? To learn more about English pronunciation and practice it in conversation, join SpeakUp, a dynamic program that engages you in authentic conversations on relevant topics and provides you with feedback from a professional and experienced English teacher. The first week is free for you to try it out!
