Minimal pairs for English learners

Minimal pairs are two words that differ in only one sound, like ship and sheep. Here are 52 examples in 13 groups, vowels first, then consonants. Hear both words, say them, then record a sentence and see which sound you really used.

Say both sounds, then check

Practising: “i” and “ee”: ship and sheep

Read this sentence aloud:

“The sheep live on the big ship.”

“i” and “ee”: ship and sheep

Often hard for: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Arabic speakers, whose languages have one “i” sound.

For “ee”, smile a little and hold the sound longer. For “i”, relax your mouth and keep it short.

“The sheep live on the big ship.”

“a” and “e”: bad and bed

Often hard for: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and German speakers.

For “a” as in cat, open your mouth wide and drop your jaw. For “e” as in bed, close it a little.

“The man sat on the bed.”

“u” and “a”: cut and cat

Often hard for: Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Russian speakers.

For “u” as in cup, keep your mouth relaxed and half open. For “a” as in cat, open wider and spread your lips.

“The cat drank from my cup.”

“l” and “r”: light and right

Often hard for: Japanese, Korean and Chinese speakers.

For L, touch the tip of your tongue to the ridge behind your top teeth. For R, pull your tongue back so it touches nothing.

“Turn right at the light.”

“th” and “s”: think and sink

Often hard for: French, German, Japanese, Chinese and Russian speakers.

For “th”, put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth and blow. For S, keep your tongue behind your teeth.

“I think the mouse is in the house.”

“th” and “f”: three and free

Often hard for: Many learners, and some native accents such as London English.

For “th”, the tongue makes the sound and the lips stay relaxed. For F, your top teeth touch your bottom lip.

“I think the first three are free.”

“th” and “d”: they and day

Often hard for: Spanish, German, Russian, Italian and Indian-language speakers.

For the voiced “th” in “they”, tongue between your teeth and hum. For D, tap the ridge behind your top teeth.

“They went there that day.”

“v” and “w”: vest and west

Often hard for: German, Hindi and Urdu speakers.

For V, rest your top teeth on your bottom lip and buzz. For W, round your lips as if you say “oo” and keep your teeth away.

“The vet wore a warm vest.”

“b” and “v”: berry and very

Often hard for: Spanish speakers, for whom B and V sound the same, and Japanese and Korean speakers.

For B, close both lips and let them pop open. For V, do not close your lips: top teeth on bottom lip, then buzz.

“We have a very big van.”

“p” and “b”: pin and bin

Often hard for: Arabic speakers, whose language has no P sound.

For P, push out a small puff of air as your lips open. For B, use your voice and no puff of air.

“Put the paper in the blue bin.”

“s” and “sh”: sea and she

Often hard for: Japanese and Korean speakers, who often say “she” for “see”, and Spanish and Greek speakers.

For S, smile a little and keep your tongue close to your top teeth. For SH, pull your tongue back and round your lips.

“She saw the ship at sea.”

“ch” and “sh”: chip and ship

Often hard for: Spanish speakers, who often say CH for SH, and French and Portuguese speakers, who do the opposite.

CH starts with a short stop, like T, then releases. SH is one smooth flow of air with no stop.

“I will wash my watch.”

“s” and “z”: price and prize

Often hard for: Spanish, Chinese and Finnish speakers.

Both use the same mouth position. Put a finger on your throat: Z buzzes, S is only air.

“The price of the prize was low.”

Keep practising

Practise single words people often get wrong in the list of commonly mispronounced words, or score a whole phrase with the pronunciation checker.

Commonly asked questions

Two words that differ in only one sound, like ship and sheep or light and right. Everything else is the same, so they show whether you can hear and say that one sound.

ship and sheep, bad and bed, cut and cat, light and right, think and sink, three and free, they and day, vest and west, berry and very, pin and bin, sea and she, chip and ship, price and prize, bit and beat, man and men, cup and cap, lead and read, thick and sick, thin and fin, then and den. This page has 52 examples with audio.

P and B are two sounds, not words. Words that differ only in those sounds, like pin and bin or cap and cab, are a minimal pair.

Listen to both words, say them one after the other, then read the practice sentence and record it. The free checker shows which sound came out as the other one.

It depends on your first language. Spanish speakers often mix up ship and sheep and B and V, Japanese and Korean speakers L and R, German speakers V and W, and Arabic speakers P and B.

They are made for teenagers and adults learning English. Speech therapists working with young children usually use picture cards for sounds like K and T or R and W.

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