Prasetyo Asyogi, M.

Pd
0852 6654 6758
Jl. Imam Bonjol (Samping Telkom), Rt. 11/04, Kel. Pasir Putih, Kec. Rimbo Tengah, Bungo-Jambi
 MATERI PRONUNCIATION
DEFINITION OF PRONUNCIATION
pronunciation (noun): the way in which we pronounce a word
pronounce (verb): to make the sound of a word
English is not Phonetic
Always remember that English is not "phonetic". That means that we do not always say a
word the same way that we spell it.
Some words can have the same spelling but different pronunciation, for example:
 I like to read [ri:d].
 I have read [red] that book.
Some words have different spelling but the same pronunciation, for example:
 I have read [red] that book.
 My favorite color is red [red].
Glossary of Pronunciation Terms
Accent the unique speech patterns of a person or group
a speech sound (consonant) that contains a stop
Affricate followed by an immediate fricative, as in the ch /ʧ/ in
"chair"
air flow/airstream the flow or passage of air out of the mouth
sound formed by touching the tip of the tongue to the
Alveolar
upper alveolar ridge, as in /t/ or /d/
the bony region at the roof and bottom of the mouth
alveolar ridge
behind the front teeth; contains the tooth sockets
consonants with a partial obstruction of airflow, as in
Approximants
/w/ and /r/
Articulation the act of making speech sounds
Aspiration a small "explosion" of air when you make a sound
Auditory hearing (not seeing)
consonant sounds formed using both lips, as in /p/ or
Bilabial
/b/
a vowel sound that is pronounced with the tongue
close vowel (sometimes close to the roof of the mouth (but not close enough
called "high" vowel) to constrict the air and make a consonant), as in /i:/ in
the word "free"
a speech sound made when there is complete or
Consonant partial obstruction of air in the mouth, as in /v/, /h/,
/d/ (compare vowel)
Clusters blended sounds put together to make a single sound
a position of the tongue where the tongue is shaped in
Curl
a curve, not flat
Dental a consonant sound made when the tongue touches the

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 upper teeth, as in /t/ and /n/
unique vocabulary, pronunciation and usage that is
Dialect
typical of a certain group of people
a sound made by the combination of two vowel
sounds in a single syllable, as in "boy", "loud" or
Diphthong
"wide", where the sound starts as one vowel and
moves towards another vowel
a positioning of the tongue where the tongue is flat
Flatten
not round
a speech sound (consonant) in which air is forced to
fricative pass through a small opening and creates friction, as
in /f/ and /v/
glide/slide moving the tongue while saying a word
the sound that is made when the vocal folds are
glottal stop closed very briefly; as in the middle of the word "uh-
oh" (common in American English)
Gum the tissue around the base of the teeth
hard palate hard part of the roof of the mouth
change in pitch of a sentence, up and down; the music
intonation
or rhythm of speech
sounds that are made with the lower lip and upper
labiodental
teeth, as in /f/ and /v/
the hollow, muscular organ in the throat that holds the
Larynx
vocal chords; the voice box
a speech sound that is made by touching the tongue to
Lateral the middle of the alveolar ridge, allowing air to pass
on both sides
lengthen sound make the duration of the sound longer
the joining of words when speaking, as in "Ca-nI-ha-
inkingl
va-bi-to-fegg?" (Can I have a bit of egg?)
lips spread lips are open slightly and pulled back
Lower bottom of mouth
two words that differ only in terms of one sound, as
minimal pairs
in "cat and bat" OR "fine and vine"
a single vowel sound that does not change in auditory
monophthong
quality; also called a "pure vowel"
consonant sounds made by pushing air through the
nasal consonants
nose, as in /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/
non-pulmonic when the air comes from a source other than the lungs
obstruction a blockage of air flow
open vowel (also called a vowel that is produced with the tongue far down
"low" vowel) from the roof of the mouth, as in the /a:/ sound in

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 "far"
a sound that is made when the tongue is near or
palatal
touching the roof of the mouth
Palate the roof of the mouth
phoneme an individual speech sound
phonetic alphabet an alphabet that represents the sounds of speech
a form of notation that uses symbols to identify the
phonetic transcription
individual sounds (phonemes) in a word
a consonant sound produced when there is a complete
plosive obstruction of air followed by its sudden release, as in
the /p/ of "pot"
Pitch amount of highness or lowness of a sound or speech
a consonant sound made with the tip of the tongue
postalveolar slightly back from the alveolar ridge, as in /ʃ/ in
"shut"
pressed lips top and bottom lips touching
protruded lips rounded lips, pushed out
a sound that is made using the airstream directly from
pulmonic
the lungs
raised higher than the neutral position
the natural shortening of sounds when speaking (e.g.
reduction
"going to" reduced to "gonna")
a variety or dialect of English in which "r" is
pronounced before a consonant (as in "hard") and at
rhotic
the end of words (as in "car"); Midwestern American
English, for example, is "rhotic"
Roof the inside top part of the mouth
rounded lips lips formed into the shape of a circle
rounded vowel a vowel made with rounded lips
the placement of emphasis on specific words within a
sentence stress
sentence or phrase
shorten sound make the duration of a sound shorter
soft palate soft part of the roof of the mouth
sounds that are made when air is impeded only
sonorant
slightly, as in /m/, /n/
a consonant sound that is produced when the airflow
stop (stop consonant) is (temporarily) stopped entirely by the lips or tongue,
as in /p/
a single unit of sound that creates one beat in a word;
syllable
the word "coffee" has two syllables (cof-fee)
syllable nucleus the central part of a syllable, usually a vowel

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Tap touch quickly
the emotion that is conveyed through the sound of
Tone
speech (e.g. anger or sadness)
muscular tissue in the mouth used for tasting and
tongue
articulating
tooth ridge the hard area directly behind the top front teeth
a vibrating sound made with a flapping tongue, as in
Trill
the rolled "r" sound made when people roll their r's
Upper top of mouth
of a sound that is made with the back of the tongue
Velar
near the soft palate, as in the the /ŋ/ in "sing"
a soft membrane on the roof of the mouth (also called
Velum
"soft palate")
vocal chords (AmE two muscles inside the larynx that vibrate and create
cords) the voice
the entire apparatus that produces voice, starting in
vocal tract the lungs and ending at the lips and nostrils (openings
of the mouth and nose)
of a sound made with the vocal chords (voice box)
Voiced
vibrating
of a sound made without the vocal chords (voice box)
voiceless/unvoiced
vibrating
a speech sound made when air is free to pass through
the mouth with little or no obstruction, as in sounds
Vowel
made with the letters a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y
(compare consonant)
position of the tongue in relation to the back of the
vowel backness mouth when making a vowel sound (positions include
front, near-front, centre, near-back, back)
distance between the tongue and the roof of the
mouth when pronouncing a vowel sound (IPA has 7
vowel height
heights: close (highest), near-close, mid-close, mid,
open-mid, near-open, open (lowest)
the placement of emphasis within a word that has
word stress
more than one syllable

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Linking in English
When we say a sentence in English, we join or "link" words to each other. Because of this
linking, the words in a sentence do not always sound the same as when we say them
individually. Linking is very important in English. If you recognize and use linking, two
things will happen:
1. you will understand other people more easily
2. other people will understand you more easily
There are basically two types of linking:
 consonant > vowel
We link words ending with a consonant sound to words beginning with a vowel sound
 vowel > vowel
We link words ending with a vowel sound to words beginning with a vowel sound
In this lesson we look at:
 Understanding Vowels and Consonants
 Linking Consonant to Vowel
 Linking Vowel to Vowel
Understanding Vowels & Consonants for Linking
To understand linking, it is important to know the difference between vowel sounds and
consonant sounds. Here is a table of English vowels and consonants:
vowels a e i O u
consonants b c d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v w x y z

The table shows the letters that are vowels and consonants. But the important thing in linking
is the sound, not the letter. Often the letter and the sound are the same, but not always.
For example, the word "pay" ends with:
 the consonant letter "y"
 the vowel sound "a"
Here are some more examples:
though know

ends with the

h w
letter

ends with the

o o
sound

uniform honest

begins with the u h

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 letter

begins with the

y o
sound

Linking Consonant to Vowel

When a word ends in a consonant sound, we often move the consonant sound to the
beginning of the next word if it starts with a vowel sound.

For example, in the phrase "turn off":

We write it like
turn off
this:

We say it like this: tur noff

Remember that it's the sound that matters. In the next example, "have" ends with:
 the letter "e" (vowel)
 the sound "v" (consonant)
So we link "have" to the next word "a" which begins with a vowel sound:
We write it like
Can I have a bit of egg?
this:

We say it like this: Ca-nI-ha-va-bi-to-fegg?

Linking Vowel to Vowel

When one word ends with a vowel sound and the next word begins with a vowel sound, we
link the words with a sort of W or Y sound.
If our lips are round at the end of the first word, we insert a W sound:
oo We write it like this: too often who is so I do all
|
o We say it like this: tooWoften whoWis soWI doWall
If our lips are wide at the end of the first word, we insert a Y sound:
oo We write it like this: Kay is I am the end she asked
|
-- We say it like this: KayYis IYam theYend sheYasked

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Homophones

What Are Homophones?

Homophones are words that have exactly the same sound (pronunciation) but different
meanings and (usually) spelling.
For example, the following two words have the same sound, but different meanings and
spelling:
hour
our
In the next example, the two words have the same sound and spelling, but different
meanings:
bear (the animal)
bear (to carry)
Usually homophones are in groups of two (our, hour), but very occasionally they can be in
groups of three (to, too, two) or even four. If we take our "bear" example, we can add another
word to the group"
bare (naked)
bear (the animal)
bear (to tolerate)

Common Homophones List

The following list of 70 groups of homophones contains only the most common homophones,
using relatively well-known words. These are headwords only. No inflections (such as third
person singular "s" or noun plurals) are included.
Air heir

aisle isle

ante- anti-

eye I

bare bear bear

Be bee

brake break

buy by

cell sell

cent scent

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 cereal serial

coarse course

complement compliment

dam damn

dear deer

die dye

fair fare

Fir fur

flour flower

For four

Hair hare

Heal heel

Hear here

Him hymn

Hole whole

hour our

Idle idol

In inn

knight night

knot not

know no

made maid

Mail male

meat meet

morning mourning

none nun

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 Oar or

One won

Pair pear

peace piece

plain plane

poor pour

pray prey

principal principle

profit prophet

Real reel

right write

root route

Sail sale

Sea see

seam seem

sight site

sew so sow

shore sure

sole soul

some sum

Son sun

stair stare

stationary stationery

steal steel

suite sweet

Tail tale

their there

To too two

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 Toe tow

waist waste

Wait weight

Way weigh

Weak week

Wear where
NB: In a few cases, a third homophone, although possible, has not been included for simplicity.
Different varieties and accents of English may produce variations in some of these
pronunciations. The homophones listed here are based on British English.

Homophones List for Elementary level

This is a list of useful homophones for elementary level learners.
The word on the right should help you understand and remember the pronunciation of the
word on the left.
aren't / aunt ate / eight b / be bread / bred*
c / see / sea cent / sent eye / I hour / our
know / no knows / nose p / pea r / ah
right / write / rite* some / sum* son / sun t / tea
there's / theirs* they're / their / there u / you
we’ve / weave* where / wear which / witch* would / wood
x / ex* y / why you're / your
* You don't need to know the meaning of this word yet, but its more regular spelling could
help with learning the word on the left.
NB: This list of homophones is based on Standard British English. Some words will not be
homophones in all accents and varieties of English.

Homophones List for Pre-Intermediate level

This is a list of useful homophones for pre-intermediate level learners.
The word on the right should help you understand and remember the pronunciation of the
word on the left.
bored / board break / brake* ceiling / sealing*
cereal / serial* done / dun* flew / flu*
hear / here heard / herd* he'd / heed*
he'll / heel* knew / new metal / mettle*
missed / mist* none / nun* passed / past
read (past tense) / red saw / sore* sight / site
straight / strait* sure / shore* taught / taut*
through / threw thrown / throne* we'd / weed*

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we'll / wheel weigh / way whole / hole
who's / whose won / one worn / warn*
* You don't need to know the meaning of this word yet, but its more regular spelling could
help with learning the word on the left.
NB: This list of homophones is based on Standard British English. Some words will not be
homophones in all accents and varieties of English.

Homophones List for Intermediate level

This is a list of useful homophones for intermediate level learners.
The word on the right should help you understand and remember the pronunciation of the
word on the left.
aisle / I'll allowed / aloud banned / band
bare / bear blew / blue chased / chaste*
cruise / crews* dye / die earn / urn*
fare / fair farther / father flour / flower
guessed / guest medal / meddle* muscle / mussel*
queue / Q route / root sew / so
sword / soared* warn / worn weight / wait
* You don't need to know the meaning of this word yet, but its more regular spelling could
help with learning the word on the left.
NB: This list of homophones is based on Standard British English. Some words will not be
homophones in all accents and varieties of English.

Homophones List for Upper-Intermediate level

This is a list of useful homophones for upper-intermediate level learners.
The word on the right should help you understand and remember the pronunciation of the
word on the left.
aloud / allowed bass (guitar) / base bases / basis bury / berry
chews / choose coup / coo* genes / jeans desert (v) / dessert
draught / draft fir / fur flaw / floor idle / idol
knight / night knot / not leased / least owe / O
pause / paws* scent / sent / cent seize / seas / sees sighed / side
sighs / size suite / sweet tear (= crying) / tier*
* You don't need to know the meaning of this word yet, but its more regular spelling could
help with learning the word on the left.
NB: This list of homophones is based on Standard British English. Some words will not be
homophones in all accents and varieties of English.

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Homophones List for Advanced level
This is a list of useful homophones for advanced level learners.
The word on the right should help you understand and remember the pronunciation of the
word on the left.
altar / alter ascent / assent aural / oral
bawl / ball berth / birth boar / bore
bough / bow (v / n) buoy / boy cache / cash
censor / sensor chord / cord chute / shoot
coarse / course corps / core cue / queue / Q
dew / due feint / faint fowl / foul
grate / great groan / grown haul / hall
hay / hey heir / air herd / heard
hoarse / horse hymn / him isle / aisle / I'll
knead / need manor / manner martial / marshal
minor / miner reign / rain strait / straight
taut / taught tier / tear (= crying) tow / toe
NB: This list of homophones is based on Standard British English. Some words will not be
homophones in all accents and varieties of English.

Alphabet Homophones
Pronouncing the English alphabet - with homophones and matching sounds, common uses,
rhyming letters, rhyming words and common confusions
Many learners find it difficult to say and/or remember the English alphabet, either because
the sounds used in English don't exist in their language or because the letters are
pronounced differently in their language. This table is designed to give five different kinds of
help to such people.
The pronunciations below are for British English. Note that in American English some of the
homophones and rhyming words may be different, and Z is pronounced "zee" (not "zed").

Words which
A- Common Rhyming Rhyming Common
have that sound
Z uses letters words confusions
(in them)

ABC, AD,
A able, ache A.M., A4, J, K pay, hey E, R
AGM

B&B, BC, C, D, E,
B be, bee b4, B-movie, G, P, T, fee, me V
B2B, BA V

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 B, D, E,
CNN, BBC,
C sea, see G, P, T, we, flea S, K
CIF, cc
V

B, C, E,
D delighted, deep CD, ID, PhD G, P, T, knee, glee
V

B, C, D,
e-mail, e.g.,
E feet, geek G, P, T, he, key A
QED
V

F16, FBI, FA
F effort, left deaf, chef V
Cup, FOB

G20, GMT, B, C, D,
G gee free, we J
G-spot E, P, T, V

H-bomb, ash, itch,

H
HTML, HQ hatch

IBM, MI6,
I aye, eye Y buy, fly E
ISBN

J jay JFK, DJ A, K say, day gee

KGB, OK,
K cable, cane, cake A, J pray, grey C
UK

LP, BLT,
L elegant, sell hell, bell R
L/C, LA

MP, MC, them,

M empty, empire N
ATM, MA hem

UN, NATO,
N end ten, when M
NB, n/a

OTT, OHP,
O oh, owe no, go on
O-ring

B, C, D,
asap, PC,
P pea, pee E, G, T, she, he B
PLC
V

Q cue, queue IQ, Q&A, U, W few, mew coup, K

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 QED

RSVP, RIP,
R ah, ask, heart far, bar A
RAF

SOS, USA, dress,

S estate, essay C
PS chess

B, C, D,
TNT, TLC,
T tea, tee E, G, P, free, tree D
PTO
V

UFO, EU, U-
U you, yew boat, UAE, Q, W do, new W
U-turn

VIP, V-neck, B, C, D,
V vegan ski, three B, fee, we
V-sign, VAT E, G, P, T

WHO,
W WWF, Q, U flew, blue double, we
WWW

X Men, X-
ray, sex,
X ex, ex- Z
X- checks
chromosome

YKK,
YMCA,
Y why I fly, buy E, I
Y-
chromosome

Z bed, dead said

Homophones List ~ Contractions

The following is a list of very common contractions with words that have a different spelling
and meaning but exactly the same sound (homophones).
you're / your it's / its we're / weir
they're / their, there aren't / aunt we've / weave
I'd / eyed he'd / heed we'd / weed
I'll / isle you'll / yule he'll / heel, heal
we'll / wheel here's / hears there's / theirs
what's / watts who's / whose

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Homophones by Vowel Sound
One of the easiest and most effective ways to remember the pronunciation of difficult words
is to match them to words that are spelled differently but are said the same way. The list
below is organised by vowel sound to make it easy to find homophones, and to help teachers
design lessons on difficult sounds. As the correct (phonemic) symbols for the vowel sounds
might be unknown or not show up on your computer, we have used our own system to show
the vowel sounds and put them in order:
/æ/ as in cat /ɑ:/ as in car /aɪ/ as in my /aʊ/ as in now
/e/ as in get /eə/ as in hair /eɪ/ as in day /ɪ/ as in sit
/ɪə/ as in here /i:/ as in feet /ɒ/ as in off /əʊ/ as in go
/ɔɪ/ as in joy /ɔ:/ as in more /ʌ/ as in cup /ɜ:/ as in her
/u:/ as in food
The pairs of homophones are in alphabetical order, and so are the words in each vowel sound
section. Note that some of the pairs of words (e.g. where and wear) are not homophones in all
varieties of English.

Homophones Lists - Plurals and Third Person S

Many books teach the pronunciation of third person S verb forms (gets /s/, needs /z/ and
chooses /Iz/) and regular plurals (bats /s/, beds /z/ and choices /Iz/), but few point out that
the rules for which of the three sounds you need are exactly the same in both cases. Another
way of making them easy to remember and pronounce is even less well known – matching
words with s ending to words that sound exactly the same. Below is a list of such words for
plurals and third person Present Simple verbs split into /s/ sound endings and /z/ sound
endings. (Unfortunately there don't seem to be any homophones for words like cheeses that
have an /Iz/ ending.)
Homophones of words with /s/ sound for plural or third person S
apps / apse cops / copse flecks / flex hurts / hertzlacks / lax laps
/ lapse links / lynx minks / minx
sacks / sax tacks / tax tucks / tux whacks / wax
Homophones of words with /z/ sound for plural or third person S
bays / baize boos / booze brays / braise brews / bruise
brows / browse chews / choose claws / clause cores / cause
crews / cruise C's seas sees / seize days / daze
does (= female deers) / doze E's / ease frees / freeze greys / graze
G's / jeez gays / gaze gores / gauze hoes / hose
hows / house (verb) knows / nose lays / laze paws pours / pause
pleas / please pores pours / pause prays preys / praise
pries / prise prize pros / prose rays / raise raze
roads / Rhodes roes rows / rose ryes / rise
seas sees / seize sighs / size T's teas tees / tease
Homophones Lists ~ Past Simple/Past Participle
Studying homophones of past tense verb forms can be useful for:

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 learning the pronunciation of the verbs (both the different pronunciations of –ed
endings and irregular verbs)

 being able to spot from the context whether a verb or another word is meant (eg, when
listening to the sentences "I've been here before" and "I like beans on toast")
On the following pages you will find selected lists of regular and irregular verbs in past
simple form and/or past participle form (V2 and/or V3) with corresponding homophones.

Homophones List ~ Regular Past Simple/Past Participle

Regular verbs arranged by pronunciation of –ed ending

/t/
based / baste bussed / bust chased / chaste guessed / guest
leased / least missed / mist packed / pact passed / past
peaked / peeked rapped / wrapped tacked / tact trussed / trust
/d/
allowed / aloud awed / oared banned / band barred / bard
bawled / balled billed / build bored / board crewed / crude
dammed / damned died / dyed filled / field fined / find
floored / flawed mined / mind mowed / mode owed / ode
pealed / peeled pedaled / peddled played / plaid pored / poured
prayed / preyed pried / pride rained / reigned / reined
raised / razed sawed / soared seemed / seamed:
sighed / side soared / sword stayed / staid
tied / tide towed / toad / toed waived / waved
weighed / wade whined / wined
/ɪd/
cited / sighted / sited kneaded / needed rested / wrested
rooted / routed waited / weighted

Homophones List ~ Irregular Past Simple/Past ParticipleIrregular verbs

arranged by vowel sound

/ɑ:/ : cast / caste
/e/ : bred / bread sent / cent
/eɪ/ : ate / eight made / maid
/i:/ : been / bean read / red seen / scene

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/əʊ/ : sold / soled grown / groan mown / moan
rode / road rose / rows thrown / throne
wrote / rote
/ɔ:/ : bore / boar born / borne caught / court
fought / fort saw / sore sought / sort
taught / taut wore / war worn / warn
/ʌ/ : done / dun rung / wrung won / one
/ɜ:/ : heard / herd
/u:/ : blew / blue flew / flu knew / new threw / through

Homophones List ~ Magic E

"Magic E" is an incredibly useful spelling rule that all native speakers learn when young but
other learners of English are often unaware of. The basic version is that an E after a short
vowel sound and a single consonant makes the vowel "say its name", i.e. take the
pronunciation of that letter when you say the alphabet. This is how it works for the five
letters that are vowels:
 a in at changes to A in ate, eg when changing from hat to hate
 e in set changes to E in Pete, eg when changing from met to mete
 i in it changes to I in write, eg when changing from bit to bite
 o in hot changes to O in choke, eg when changing from hop to hope
 u in but changes to U in use, eg when changing from cut to cute
Learning the homophones of words with a magic E in them can help you learn this
pronunciation and spelling rule. If you already know this rule, you can then use it to learn
the words that are homophones, eg using your knowledge of how to say "base" as a way of
remembering the difference between bass guitar (which has the same pronunciation) and
bass the fish (which is different).

Words with magic E making A say its name

ate / eight bale / bail base / bass (guitar) based / baste
brake / break chased / chaste daze / days gaze / gays
grate / great lane / lain laze / lays made / maid
male / mail mane / main maze / maize pale / pail
pane / pain place / plaice plane / plain raze / rays
sale / sail shake / sheik stake / steak tale / tail
vane / vein wade / weighed wave / waive whale / wail

Words with magic E making E say its name

genes / jeans mete / meet

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Words with magic E making I say its name
bite / byte cite / sight clime / climb fined / find
mined / mind miner / minor mite / might pride / pried
prize / pries rise / ryes rite / right side / sighed
sine / sign site / sight size / sighs tide / tied
time / thyme wise / whys write / right

Words with magic E making O say its name

hose / hoes lode / load lone / loan mode / mowed
nose / knows ode / owed pole / poll rode / road
role / roll rose / rows sole / soul yoke / yolk

Words with magic E making U say its name

use / yews muse / mews
English Phonetic Spelling
When speaking on the telephone, it is sometimes useful to spell a word using English
Phonetic Spelling. To spell "Club", for example, you would say: "C for Charlie, L for Lima,
U for Uniform, B for Bravo."
It is very easy to learn English Phonetic Spelling. Start by spelling your name, then your
company or address. Soon, you will know the whole alphabet. It also helps to remember that
there are several groups of words that go together:
 Dances: Foxtrot, Tango
 Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet
 Men's first names: Charlie, Mike, Oscar, Victor
 Cities: Lima, Quebec

A Alpha N November

B Bravo O Oscar

C Charlie P Papa

D Delta Q Quebec

E Echo R Romeo

F Foxtrot S Sierra

G Golf T Tango

H Hotel U Uniform

I India V Victor

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 J Juliet W Whisky

K Kilo X X-ray

L Lima Y Yankee

M Mike Z Zulu

According to the International Phonetic Association, the above list is sometimes wrongly
called the "International Phonetic Alphabet".

Phonemic Chart
This phonemic chart uses symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). IPA
symbols are useful for learning pronunciation. The symbols on this chart represent the 44
sounds used in British English speech (Received Pronunciation or RP, an educated accent
associated with but not exclusive to south-east England).
Learners and teachers may want to print a copy of this phonemic chart to keep close at hand
for reference.

Interactive Phonemic Chart

Monophthong vowels are arranged by mouth shape:
 left > right, lips wide > lips round
 top > bottom, jaw closed > jaw open
The first two rows of consonants are paired:
 above, voiceless
 below, voiced

Minimal Pairs
Minimal pairs are words that vary by only a single sound, usually meaning sounds that
students often get confused by, like the "th" and "t" in "thin" and "tin".

Vowel Sounds

Minimal Pairs /ɪ/ and /i:/

sit and seat

Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /ɪ/ and the other the
sound /i:/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
As indicated by the /:/ part of its symbol, /i:/ is a longer sound than /ɪ/ and pronouncing it
this way can help distinguish between the two in the pairs of words below. You will also
notice, however, that /ɪ/ does not have a dot over it, making it a different mouth position

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from /i:/. The sound /i:/ is said with the mouth much more spread, something like a broad
smile. This is why we say "cheese" rather than "chiz" (or "whizz") when we take photos.

Elementary
bin bean bitch* beach chip cheap did deed*
fit* feet grin* green his he’s is ease*
it eat mitt* meet sit seat slip* sleep
Pre-Intermediate
bit beat* each itch* fill feel hid heed*
hill he’ll hit heat ill eel* kill keel*
kip* keep lip leap* mill* meal pick peek*
piss* piece pitch* peach shill* she’ll sick seek*
Intermediate
chick* cheek chit* cheat dill* deal gin gene
grid greed hip heap* kid keyed* knit neat
lick leak piss* peace risen reason shit sheet
sill* seal sim* seem sin* scene still steel
till teal* tin teen tizz* teas
Upper-Intermediate
‘til teal* bid bead bitch beech* biz bees
cist* ceased dip deep fist feast fizz fees
pill peel pip peep pit peat* shin sheen*
skid skied skim scheme tick teak*
Advanced/Proficiency
bib Beeb blip bleep britches breeches crick creek
din dean finned fiend flit fleet gip jeep
grist greased sim seam sip seep skit skeet
slick sleek slit sleet tit teat tizz tease
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word. For this reason, some of the words are given at two
different levels, the second time being when the meaning is also useful.

Minimal Pairs /æ/ and /ʌ/

bat and but
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /æ/ and the other the
sound /ʌ/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
/æ/ and /ʌ/ are the two closest vowel sounds in English and so it is very difficult to hear and
pronounce the difference. In fact, in some American accents there is no distinction between
the two. It is still worth language learners working on the difference between them, however,
as there are many words that vary only by this sound.

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Elementary
bad bud* bank bunk* bat but batter butter
brash* brush cam* come cap cup cat cut
dad dud* hat hut* match much

Pre-Intermediate
badge budge* banker bunker* began begun crash crush*
dabble* double drank drunk fan fun hag* hug
mad mud* massed* must pack puck* pan pun*
ran run sang sung stand stunned* swam swum
tang* tongue wan* won

Intermediate
ankle uncle back buck bag bug ban bun
bang bung* cab cub* dram* drum flash flush*
gnat* nut ham hum hang hung rang rung
rash rush sack suck sand sunned* sax sucks

Upper-Intermediate
cram crumb dam dumb damp dump fanned fund
grab grub* jag* jug mat mutt* paddle puddle
pat putt rag rug sank sunk sapper* supper

Advanced
blabber blubber champ chump dab dub dank dunk
flank flunk flax flux gash gush glam glum
hanker hunker hash hush hatch hutch lag lug
pap pup patter putter rabble rubble ram rum
sally sully sap sup scram scrum shacks shucks
slag slug slash slush slat slut stab stub
tab tub tack tuck tat tut thrash thrush
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.

Minimal Pairs /əʊ/ and /ɔ:/

so and saw
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /əʊ/ and the other the
sound /ɔ:/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly
The sound of /əʊ/ (as in "O", "oh" and "owe") is a diphthong, meaning two vowel sounds
blended into one. You should be able to see the mouth moving from one position to the other
while making the sound, with the mouth becoming smaller and rounder. You can emphasize

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and control this by holding your hand in front of your mouth and bringing the fingers in
towards each other as you move from the first part of the sound to the last part.
The sound of /ɔ:/ (as in "or" and "awe") is a single long sound. The mouth doesn't move
while making this sound, and you can pronounce it as long as you have breath.
Elementary
bowl ball doe* door foe* for four go gore*
know no nor* moaning* morning mow* more
O or so saw
Pre-Intermediate
boat bought bode* | board bored bone | born borne*
close claws* doze* doors drone* drawn
flow | flaw* floor foal* fall folk fork
note nought poke pork road rode | roared*
sew so | saw sore show sure shown shorn*
snow snore* stow* store tote* taught
Intermediate
chose chores coast coursed* crow craw*
dome dorm goal gall* hole whole | hall haul*
know no | nor low law motor mortar*
owe or roe* row | raw roar* toe | tore tour
tone torn
Upper-Intermediate
code cord cone corn doze doors drone drawn
foam form go gore hone horn load lord
moan mourn moaning | morning mourning mow more
oat ought owed awed* poach porch quote quart
sew so | saw soar sore show | shore sure
snow snore
Advanced
bode | board bored bone | born borne bow | boar bore
choke chalk close claws coke cork
copes corpse doe door flow | flaw floor
foe | for fore four goad gored goal gall
ho hoe | hoar whore hole whole | hall haul hose whores
implode implored joe jaw know no | gnaw nor
load lode | lord low | law lore moan | morn mourn
mole maul mow | moor more node gnawed
O owe | oar ode owed | awed pose | pause paws
road rode | roared roe row | raw roar scone scorn
stoke stork stow store toad towed | toured
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the

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pronunciation with the other word. For this reason, some of the words are given at two
different levels, the second time being when the meaning is also useful.
Minimal Pairs /æ/ and /e/

bad and bed

Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the vowel sound /æ/ and the other the
vowel sound /e/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
If these two sounds are the same in your language, it may be difficult for you to pronounce
them differently because:
 native speakers pronounce /æ/ in several different ways
 /æ/ is quite similar to /e/
The clearest difference is that /e/ is spoken with a wider, more stretched mouth. You can
make this clear by seeing how your mouth gets wider and wider as you go
from /æ/ to /e/ to /i:/.

Elementary
axe* X back beck* bad bed bag beg*can ken*
ham hem* jam gem* man men pat* pet

Pre-Intermediate
and end flash flesh* gnat* net had head
pack peck* pan pen sad said sat set
spanned* spend

Intermediate
band bend bat bet dad dead gas guess
gassed* guest land lend manned* mend marry merry*
shall shell

Upper-Intermediate
axe ex fad fed mat met rabble* rebel sacks sex
sax sex tack tech tamper* temper track trek

Advanced
bland blend cattle kettle dab deb fanned fend* flax flecks
frat fret tamp temp trad tread vat vet
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.

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Minimal Pairs /ɑ:/ and /ɜ:/
fast and first
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the vowel sound /ɑ:/ and the other the
vowel sound /ɜ:/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
Both sounds are long single sounds but the mouth position is different, with /ɑ:/ having a
much wider open mouth position. This is why your doctor asks you to say this sound to show
him or her inside your mouth. /ɜ:/ is much more like the sound people make when they are
disgusted.

Elementary
bar burr* bath berth* car cur* card curd* fast first
guard gird* ha* her SCART* skirt

Pre-Intermediate
bard* bird far fir* hard heard hard herd*
heart hurt parse* purse pass purse past pursed*

Intermediate
barn* burn bath birth cart curt* far fur
farm firm Pa per part pert* sharper Sherpa*

Upper-Intermediate
bark berk* blah* blur card Kurd carve curve
dart dirt par purr park perk shark shirk*
star stir

Advanced
arc irk barbs burbs carbs curbs harpies herpes
parched perched parp perp
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.

Consonant Sounds

Minimal Pairs /b/ and /v/

berry and very

Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /b/ and the other the
sound /v/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.

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/b/ has the same mouth position as /p/, but using your voice. Try saying /p/ and then
holding your neck to make sure that your voice is being used when you say /b/. There should
be a sudden release of air as you say the sound, meaning that it is impossible to extend it.
/v/ has the same mouth shape as /f/, but using your voice. Put your top teeth on your bottom
lip. It is possible to extend this sound for as long as you like.
If you are practising on your own, try saying both words and making sure your pronunciation
of each is different, for example by looking at your mouth shape in the mirror.
Elementary
BV bat vat* beer veer* berry very best vest*
bowl vole*
Pre-Intermediate
ban van bars vase* boat vote bow (v/n) vow*
bowels* vowels burbs* verbs gibbon* given serb serve
Intermediate
bale* veil bars vase bent vent* best vest bet vet
Upper-Intermediate
bane* vain bury very bow (v/n) vow lobes* loaves
rebel revel*
Advanced/Proficiency
bale veil bane vein bat vat beer veer bent vent bid vid bile
vile biz viz bolt volt bowels vowels bowl vole
broom vroom burbs verbs curb curve dribble drivel dub dove
fibre fiver gibbon given jibe jive lobes loaves rebel revel
verb verve
n = noun, v = verb
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word. For this reason, some of the words are given at two
different levels, the second time being when the meaning is also useful.

Minimal Pairs /b/ and /p/

buy and pie
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /b/ and the other the
sound /p/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
The main difference between /b/ and /p/ is that /b/ is a voiced sound, whereas /p/ is just
produced by the puff of air. Also, /b/ is pronounced with less air released than /p/, and this
can sometimes be a more useful distinction as it is difficult to feel the vocal cords vibrating
when making the /b/ sound.

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Elementary
BP bar Pa bay* pay be P bear* pair berry perry*
bet* pet big pig blaze* plays but putt* butter putter*
buy pie by pie bye pie cub* cup

Pre-Intermediate
band panned* bat pat* beer pier* belt pelt* bill pill
bin pin bit pit* blade* played blain* plane bland* planned
bore poor bored pawed* bought port braid* prayed

Intermediate
banned panned* bare pare* base pace beak* peak
bear pear beat peat* bee pee* bitch* pitch
blain* plain blank plank* blot* plot board pawed*
bow pow* braise* prays bride pride browed* proud
burr* per robe rope

Upper-Intermediate
bah* par bead peed* beak* peek bier* peer
blaster* plaster bleed plead* blink plink* bore pour
braise* praise breast pressed breech* preach brick prick*
cab cap rib rip tribe tripe*

Advanced
batty patty beep peep beet peat bi pi
blade plaid bleat pleat bloom plume blunder plunder
blush plush boar paw boar pour boo poo
braise preys brat prat brawn prawn brig prig
brim prim burr purr butt putt
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word. For this reason, some of the words are given at two
different levels, the second time being when the meaning is also useful.

Minimal Pairs /n/ and /ŋ/

thin and thing
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /n/ and the other having the
sound /ŋ/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
Both /n/ and /ŋ/ are pronounced with air coming through your nose, with you blocking the air
in your mouth with the front of your tongue for /n/ and the back of your tongue for /ŋ/.

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Elementary
band banged* hanged* hand sin* sing thin thing
win wing* wind winged*
Pre-Intermediate
been bean done dung* fan* fang gone gong*
kin* king sun sung
Intermediate
pan pang* pin ping* plain plane ran rang
Upper-Intermediate
ban bang banned banged bond* bonged bun bung*
hun* hung pond ponged* tan tang*
Advanced
bonze bongs chin ching clan clang din ding
don dong dun dung stun stung
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.

Minimal Pairs final /t/ and /d/

hat and had
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the final sound /t/ and the other the
final sound /d/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
Partly because the pronunciation of final /t/ and initial /t/ are very different, even students
who don’t have general problems with /d/ and /t/ can have problems recognising and
pronouncing these two sounds at the end of words.
Elementary
ant* and at add* bat bad bet* bed but bud* cat cad*
eight aid* fat fad* feet feed* got god hat had hot hod*
it id* meet mead* not nod* short shored* wait weighed*
write ride
Pre-Intermediate
bought bored cart card heart hard hit hid
hurt heard mat mad meant mend neat need
plate played sat sad sent send set said
sheet she’d sight side spent spend state stayed
taught toured
Intermediate
beat bead* bent bend bright bride cute queued
debt dead heat heed* height hide kit kid
oat owed pat pad port poured pot pod
quit quid* route rude slight slide sought sawed
tent tend tight tied

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Upper-Intermediate
bleat* bleed cot cod fate fade float flowed
font fond gloat* glowed haunt horned* moat* mode
mount mound plot plod* scant* scanned site sighed
skit* skid slit slid spite spied stunt stunned
tint tinned trot* trod
Advanced/Proficiency
blurt blurred clot clod faint feigned goat goad
grit grid nought gnawed pant panned peat peed
pert purred plaint planed pleat plead punt punned
shunt shunned skint skinned spurt spurred stoat stowed
tart tarred teat teed
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.

Minimal Pairs /l/ and /r/

alive and arrive
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /r/ and the other the
sound /l/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
/l/ is pronounced with a large flap of the tongue. The best way to make it clear that you aren’t
pronouncing /r/ is to bend your tongue as far back as you can in your mouth, and flick it
forward as you say /l/. (You can help control your tongue by holding one hand next to your
mouth with your fingers in the same position as your tongue, and flick your fingers at the
same time as your tongue.)
/r/ is pronounced many different ways in various English-speaking countries and regions, so
it is not particularly useful to ask students to base their pronunciation on what native speakers
do with their mouths. As making a distinction is the most important thing, it is often better to
exaggerate the differences between the two sounds. These descriptions are therefore meant to
be useful for students rather than explanations of usual pronunciations.
/r/ is totally unlike /l/ for English speakers. In fact, some people pronounce it much more like
/w/. The best way of making the distinction is try to move your tongue as little as possible
when making the sound. (You can use your hand to help in the same way as suggested with
/l/, but this time keeping your hand still. It can also help to start with your top teeth just
touching the back of your bottom lip.)
Elementary
alive arrive belly* berry blight* bright blue brew*
blush* brush flee* free fly fry lane* rain
led* red lead* read lice* rice light right
load* road long wrong loom* room lot rot*
play pray*

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Pre-Intermediate
blew brew* clash* crash collect correct glamour grammar
glass grass lace* race lamp ramp* late rate* law
raw led red leader reader lied* ride
lighter writer lock rock locker rocker luck ruck*
lush* rush
Intermediate
clown crown fleas* freeze glow* grow lack rack*
lair* rare lake rake* lamb ram* lane rain
lather* rather laze raise lead read leech* reach
lies rise lip rip list wrist lob* rob
locket rocket loot* roots lows rose pilot pirate
Upper Intermediate
belly berry blues bruise blush brush flee free
flees freeze laid raid lamp ramp lank* rank
lap wrap late rate lay ray lead red
leer* rear lentil rental lid rid lot rot
loyal royal play pray
Advanced/Proficiency
blacken bracken blight bright blew brew clash crash
flea free fleas freeze gland grand glow grow
jelly jerry lace race lack rack
lag rag lagging ragging lair rare lake rake
lamb ram lank rank lash rash lather rather
law raw laze raze

Minimal Pairs /ʧ/ and /t/

catch and cat
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /ʧ/ and the other the
sound /t/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
/t/ is pronounced by putting the tip of your tongue against the top of your mouth just behind
your top teeth and pulling it down, making the "tut tut" sound you make when you
disapprove of something. The tongue and mouth positions are the same as when you
pronounce /d/, but with /t/ the voice is not used and you release more air.
/ʧ/ is pronounced without your tongue moving and with more air released than with /t/. It is
similar to the sound of a sneeze, and the air released should be able to move a piece of paper
or be felt on your hand five centimetres in front of your mouth. It is most similar to the
sound /ʤ/, but again without the voice and with more air released.
Elementary
catch cat cheese tease* chew* two child tiled*
chime* time hatch* hat much mutt* notch* not

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ouch out peach peat* starch* start teach teat*
watch what which wit*
Pre-Intermediate
beach beat chest test chip tip choose twos
chore* tour chose toes churn* turn coach coat
each eat match mat rich writ* roach* wrote
torch taught
Intermediate
belch* belt bench bent chair tear chap* tap
chat tat* cheat teat* cheek teak* chew too
chill till chin tin chop top itch it
parch* part punch punt* touch tut wrench* rent
Upper-Intermediate
arch art batch* bat bitch bit bunch bunt*
chart tart cheer tear chick tick chore tore
hitch hit hunch hunt march mart patch pat
pitch pit porch port Scotch Scot witch wit
Advanced/Proficiency
beech beet bitchy bitty bleach bleat blotch blot
botch bot catchy catty char tar chide tide
chirps turps chit tit choke toke chubby tubby
chuffed tuft chug tug flinch flint hooch hoot
hutch hut kitsch kit lynch lint mooch moot
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.

Minimal Pairs /s/ and /ʃ/

sea and she
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /s/ and the other the
sound /ʃ/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
/ʃ/ is produced with a much more rounded mouth than /s/, and is the sound we make when
we want people to be quiet. If you use your voice with that mouth
/s/ is said with the lips pulled back more, with the same mouth position as /z/ but without
using your voice.
Elementary
C she gas gash* sea she seal* she’ll
seat sheet see she single shingle* sock shock
Pre-Intermediate
boss bosh* cost coshed* crass* crash diss* dish
plus plush* puss* push sale shale* save shave
seen sheen* so show son shun* sore sure

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Intermediate
fist fished mess mesh* rust rushed sank shank*
saw shore scene sheen* seed she’d seek chic

Upper-Intermediate
ass ash crust crushed mass mash sack shack
said shed sail shale* sake shake same shame
seize she’s sigh shy sin shin sip ship
Advanced
bass bash doss dosh gust gushed moss mosh
sag shag sass sash sawn shorn seer sheer
sift shift sill shill sine shine sod shod
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word. For this reason, some of the words are given at two
different levels, the second time being when the meaning is also useful.

Minimal Pairs /f/ and /h/

fat and hat
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /h/ and the other having the
sound /f/. You can use these lists to practise the sounds or to tell you which words to be
careful to pronounce properly.
/h/ is pronounced with a puff of air from a wide open mouth so that, for example, "ha" can be
said without changing your mouth position. It is similar to blowing steam onto your glasses
so you can clean them and a bit like a sigh.

/f/ is pronounced with a much smaller mouth than /h/, with the teeth near or touching the
bottom lip. This means that, unlike "ha", you have to open your mouth wider to say the
second part of the word "far". Using the same mouth position as /f/, your voice produces the
sound /v/.
Elementary
fat hat fate* hate fed* head fee* he
feel he'll fees* he's feet heat* fir* her
Pre-Intermediate
fair hair fall hall far ha fart* heart
feel heel few hew* fit hit found hound*
Intermediate
fail hail fare hare* farm harm fear hear
fight height fill hill fix hicks* foal* whole
Upper-Intermediate
faced haste fad had fake hake* fang* hang
feed he’d fell hell fence hence foam home
fop* hop fug* hug phase haze*

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Advanced/Proficiency
fag hag fawn horn fey hay fob hob
foe hoe foes hose fore haw fowl howl
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.

Minimal Pairs /s/ and /θ/

sing and thing
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /s/ and the other the
sound /θ/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
At least while you are making a conscious effort to do so, it is fairly easy to pronounce these
two sounds differently. /θ/ is pronounced with your tongue between your teeth or even
sticking out of your mouth, and you can make sure you pronounce it clearly by putting your
finger vertically in front of your lips and checking that it gets wet when you make this
sound. /s/ is pronounced with the tongue well inside your mouth and the mouth much more
widely stretched.
Elementary
face faith* force* fourth kiss kith* mouse mouth
sing thing song thong* tense* tenth
Pre-Intermediate
mass* math Norse* North saw thaw* sick thick
sink think sort thought worse worth*
Intermediate
miss myth pass path race wraith* seem theme
some thumb sore thaw* truce* truth use(n) youth
Upper-Intermediate
gross growth* purse Perth* seam* theme sigh thigh
sin thin sought thought sum thumb
Advanced
moss moth piss pith sank thank sawn thorn
suds thuds sump thump symbol thimble
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word. For this reason, some of the words are given at two
different levels, the second time being when the meaning is also useful.

Minimal Pairs /ʤ/ and /z/

page and pays
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /ʤ/ and the other having the sound /z/.
You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to pronounce properly.

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/ʤ/ is an explosive sound that is like a voiced version of /ʧ/ and therefore almost like a sneeze and so it
is impossible to extend the sound for very long. /z/ is a smooth sound that is a voiced version of /s/
and so can be extended as long as you like.

Elementary
cage* Ks page pays siege* sees stage* stays

Pre-Intermediate
barge* bars change chains* charge chars* forge* fours
fridge frizz* gip* zip siege* Cs wage ways

Intermediate
binge* bins gauge* gays gunge* guns Jew zoo
rage* raise strange strains* tinge* tins

Upper-Intermediate
flange* flans fudge fuzz* mage* maze marge Mars
rage rays sarge* SARS siege seize singe* sins

Advanced
budge buzz gauge gaze gorge gauze grange grains
jag zag jest zest jig zig purge purrs
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.

Minimal Pairs /d/ and /ʤ/

bad and badge
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /d/ and the other having the
sound /ʤ/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
/ʤ/ is an explosive sound that is like a voiced version of /ʧ/ and therefore quite a lot of air is expelled
from a rounded mouth. /d/ is a voiced version of /t/ and so the sound is made with your tongue behind
your top teeth.

Elementary
bad badge day J do Jew* dob* job
door jaw* gym dim* head hedge* jam dam*

Pre-Intermediate
dear jeer* deep jeep dive jive* dog jog
dot jot* Ds geez* gin din* jump dump*

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Intermediate
charred* charge dale* jail jet *debt jig* dig
jug dug junk dunk* just dust led ledge*

Upper-Intermediate
CAD* cadge day jay deans jeans dock jock*
dread dredge* gel dell* gip* dip jam damn
raid rage rid ridge* seed siege sled sledge

Advanced
barred barge bud budge dosh josh doss joss
doused joust ford forge gist dissed gored gorge
jab dab jangle dangle jink dink jinx dinks
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.

Minimal Pairs /d/ and /ʤ/

bad and badge
Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the sound /d/ and the other having the
sound /ʤ/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
/ʤ/ is an explosive sound that is like a voiced version of /ʧ/ and therefore quite a lot of air is
expelled from a rounded mouth. /d/ is a voiced version of /t/ and so the sound is made with
your tongue behind your top teeth.
Elementary
bad badge day J do Jew* dob* job
door jaw* gym dim* head hedge* jam dam*
Pre-Intermediate
dear jeer* deep jeep dive jive* dog jog
dot jot* Ds geez* gin din* jump dump*
Intermediate
charred* charge dale* jail jet debt jig* dig
jug dug junk dunk* just dust led ledge*
Upper-Intermediate
CAD *cadge day jay deans jeans dock jock*
dread dredge* gel dell* gip* dip jam damn
raid rage rid ridge* seed siege sled sledge
Advanced

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barred barge bud budge dosh josh doss joss
doused joust ford forge gist dissed gored gorge
jab dab jangle dangle jink dink jinx dinks
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.

Final Consonant Sounds

Minimal Pairs final /m/ and /n/

am and an
Below are lists of words that vary only by one ending with the sound /m/ and the other ending
with the sound /n/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to
pronounce properly.
Both sounds are produced with the air coming through your nose. With /m/ that is achieved
by closing your lips, whereas with /n/ the lips are open and your tongue touching the top of
your mouth behind your teeth blocks the air. Even students who do not find these sounds
difficult to recognise and produce at the beginning of syllables can have problems when they
are at the end of words.
Elementary
am* an cam* can foam* phone home hone*
mam* man meme* mean
Pre-Intermediate
beam* been came cane* climb cline* comb cone
gnome* known seam* scene spam span* sum* sun
Intermediate
boom boon* dime dine fame feign* game gain
gum gun seem seen team teen term tern*
Upper-Intermediate
blame blain* clam clan dorm dawn dumb dun*
gram gran same sane scam scan skim skin
Advanced
beam bean deem dean dim din gleam glean
grim grin sim sin teem teen
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.

Minimal Pairs final /ʤ/ and /ʤi:/

orange and orangy
Below are lists of words that vary only by one ending with the sound /ʤ/ and the other ending
with the sound /ʤi:/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful
to pronounce properly.

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You can practise ending the words below with the right consonant sound by building up the
pronunciation of the word one sound at a time backwards from the final one, e.g. "ge" then
"nge", "ange" and "range" until you end up with "orange".

1 g e

2 n g e

3 a n g e

4 r a n g e

5 o r a n g e
Concentrating very hard on getting the right number of syllables can also help. Note that any
word below ending in /ʤi:/ has one syllable more than its minimal pair ending in /ʤ/ (i.e., the
word on the right has one syllable more than the word on the left).
Elementary
orange orangy* village villagey
Pre-Intermediate
beige beigy* edge edgy* sponge spongy*
Intermediate
cage cagey* hedge hedgy* range rangy* stage stagy*
Upper-Intermediate
budge budgie dodge dodgy* fudge fudgy* grunge grungy
Advanced
barge bargy bilge bilgy bulge bulgy dinge dingy
dirge dirgy kludge kludgy minge mingy sludge sludgy
smudge smudgy splodge splodgy stodge stodgy whinge whingey
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.

Mixed Sounds

Minimal Pairs /h/ and no /h/

ham and am
Below are lists of words that vary only by one starting with the consonant /h/ and the other
not having that sound, in other words starting with a vowel. You can use these lists to
practise the sounds or to tell you which words to be careful to pronounce properly.

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/h/ is produced with a puff of air and you can see whether you are pronouncing it by putting a
mirror close to your mouth and checking that you have produced some mist (but hopefully no
spit!) on it.
Elementary
ham am hand and has as hat at
he E he's E's hem* M hex* X
hi I his is hive* I've
Pre-Intermediate
hair air hate eight hear ear heart art
heat eat high eye hit it
Intermediate
hake* ache hall all harm arm hearing earring
hell L hey A hide I'd hoe* owe
hone* own how ow
Upper-Intermediate
hail ale hair heir hash* ash he's ease
heal eel heave* eve hedge edge hid Id*
hill ill hod* odd hop op*
Advanced/Proficiency
hacks axe haft aft hale ail hark ark
haste aced haze As hitch itch ho oh
hoakie oaky hose O's hurl Earl whore awe
* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the
pronunciation with the other word.
Contractions
Pronunciation tips (including homophones)
This table covers "be", "have" and "will" only (not verbs like "should" and "can") because
these are the verbs where homophones can help you understand and remember some of the
contractions.
Only one pronunciation is given for each contraction, but there may be other pronunciations
when unstressed or in other varieties of English.

homophone common
s confusions

pronunciatio same different

ver long contractio n (number of pronunciatio pronunciatio
b form n syllables) n n rhymes with

I am I'm |ime| (1) - Aim Dime

be you jaw/more/fou
you're |yor| (1) your/yore Jaw
are r

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 his/fees/heat
he is he's |heez| (1) - fees/bees
h

she is she's |sheez| (1) - seas/sees seas/he's

it is it's |its| (1) its eats/ids bits/fits

we
we're |wier| (1) weir were/where pier/beer
are

they
they're |thear| (1) their/there Dare pair/fair
are

are
aren't |arnt| (1) aunt ant/aunty shan't
not

is not isn't |izunt| (2) - - -

was
wasn't |wozunt| (2) - - -
not

were
weren't |wurnt| (1) - want/won't burnt/learnt
not

I
I've |ive| (1) - ivy/if dive/five
have

you
you've |yoov| (1) - - move/prove
have

he his/fees/heat
he's |heez| (1) - fees/bees
has h

she
she's |sheez| (1) - seas/sees seas/he's
has

it has it's |its| (1) its eats/ids bits/fits

hav
e we
we've |weev| (1) weave With peeve/believe
have

they
they've |theiv| (1) - Dave dave/brave
have

I had I'd |ide| (1) eyed Id cried/died

you
you'd |yood| (1) - jude (name) food/renewed
had

he hid/head/fee
he'd |heed| (1) heed feed/need
had d

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 she
she'd |sheed| (1) - shed/seed seed/he'd
had

it had it'd |itud| (2) - - -

we
we'd |weed| (1) weed Wed he'd/she'd
had

they
they'd |theid| (1) - - spade/paid
had

I will I'll |ail| (1) aisle/isle Ill while/pile

you
you'll |yuul| (1) yule you all/jewel Tool
will

he
he'll |heel| (1) heel/heal feel/hell feel/peel
will

she
she'll |sheel| (1) - Shell he'll/feel
will

it will it'll |itul| (2) - - -

we
we'll |weel| (1) wheel/weal Well he'll/she'll
will

they
they'll |theil| (1) - Dale dale/male
will

will
will won't |woant| (1) - Want don't
not

I
woul I'd |ide| (1) eyed Id cried/died
d

you
woul you'd |yood| (1) - jude (name) food/renewed
d

he
hid/head/fee
woul he'd |heed| (1) heed feed/need
d
d

she
woul she'd |sheed| (1) - shed/seed seed/he'd
d

it
it'd |itud| (2) - - -
woul

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 d

we
woul we'd |weed| (1) weed Wed he'd/she'd
d

they
woul they'd |theid| (1) - - spade/paid
d
How to Pronounce -ed in English
The past simple tense and past participle of all regular verbs end in -ed. For example:

base
past simple past participle
verb
(v2) (v3)
(v1)

work worked worked

In addition, many adjectives are made from the past participle and so end in -ed. For
example:
 I like painted furniture.
The question is: How do we pronounce the -ed?
The answer is: In 3 ways - / Id/ or / t/ or / d/

example
If the base verb ends in example pronounce extra
with -
one of these sounds: base verb*: the -ed: syllable?
ed:

unvoiced /t/ want wanted

/ Id/ Yes
voiced /d/ end Ended

/p/ hope hoped

/f/ laugh Laughed

/s/ fax Faxed

unvoiced / t/
/S/ wash Washed
No
/tS/ watch Watched

/k/ like Liked

play played
all other sounds,
voiced / d/
for example... allow Allowed

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 beg Begged
* note that it is the sound that is important, not the letter or spelling. For example, "fax"
ends in the letter "x" but the sound /s/; "like" ends in the letter "e" but the sound /k/.
Exceptions
The following -ed words used as adjectives are pronounced with /Id/:
 aged  dogged  ragged
 blessed  learned  wicked
 crooked  naked  wretched
So we say:
 an aged man /Id/
 a blessed nuisance /Id/
 a dogged persistance /Id/
 a learned professor - the professor, who was truly learned /Id/
 a wretched beggar - the beggar was wretched /Id/
But when used as real verbs (past simple and past participle), the normal rules apply and we
say:
 he aged quickly /d/
 he blessed me /t/
 they dogged him /d/
 he has learned well /d/ or /t/

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