Pronunciation: tricky sounds

Some English sounds are hard if your first language doesn't have them, and some pairs of words differ in only one sound: ⟦ship⟧ and ⟦sheep⟧, ⟦pen⟧ and ⟦pan⟧. Listening to these minimal pairs and saying them aloud trains your ear and your mouth. Use the Listen button and copy the sound.

Key facts

  • ⟦p⟧ and ⟦b⟧: ⟦p⟧ has a puff of air and no voice (⟦pin⟧), ⟦b⟧ uses your voice (⟦bin⟧).
  • ⟦f⟧ and ⟦v⟧: top teeth on your bottom lip. ⟦f⟧ is only air (⟦fan⟧); ⟦v⟧ buzzes (⟦van⟧).
  • Short ⟦i⟧ and long ⟦ee⟧: ⟦ship / sheep⟧, ⟦sit / seat⟧, ⟦fill / feel⟧. The long sound is longer, with a smile.
  • ⟦th⟧: tongue between your teeth. Without voice: ⟦think⟧, ⟦three⟧, ⟦mouth⟧. With voice: ⟦this⟧, ⟦mother⟧. Don't say ⟦sink⟧ for ⟦think⟧ or ⟦tree⟧ for ⟦three⟧.
  • Other pairs: ⟦bed / bad⟧, ⟦men / man⟧ (open your mouth wider for ⟦a⟧); ⟦chip / ship⟧ (⟦ch⟧ starts with a stop); ⟦full / fool⟧.

Worked examples

Example 1

Do ⟦ship⟧ and ⟦sheep⟧ sound the same?

  1. ⟦ship⟧ has a short, relaxed ⟦i⟧.
  2. ⟦sheep⟧ has a long ⟦ee⟧, said with a smile.
  3. They are different words: a boat and an animal.

Answer: No

Example 2

Which word has the same vowel sound as ⟦cat⟧: ⟦cake⟧, ⟦bag⟧ or ⟦cup⟧?

  1. ⟦cat⟧ has a short ⟦a⟧.
  2. ⟦cake⟧ has the long ⟦ay⟧ sound and ⟦cup⟧ has ⟦u⟧.
  3. ⟦bag⟧ has the same short ⟦a⟧.

Answer: ⟦bag⟧

Example 3

How do you say the first sound of ⟦three⟧?

  1. Put the tip of your tongue between your teeth.
  2. Blow air out gently, with no voice: ⟦th⟧, ⟦three⟧ (not ⟦tree⟧).

Answer: ⟦th⟧: tongue between the teeth