Today we are going to learn some more about what minimal pairs are and how to discriminate one sound in English from another.
Pair of words, as pin and bin, or bet and bed, differing only by one sound in the same position in each word, especially when such a pair is taken as evidence for the existence of a phonemic contrast between the two sounds.
These are some examples of minimal pairs,if you need to check the phonetic transcription or how a word is pronounced.
Visit the Cambridge Online Dictionary for more information
Table of Contents
Vowels: Minimal Pairs /iː/ and /ɪ/
beach | bitch |
heat | hit |
peach | pitch |
eat | it |
seat | sit |
bead | bid |
beet | bit |
heed | hid |
deed | did |
feet | fit |
reach | rich |
green | grin |
peel | pill |
seater | sitter |
For more information about these two sounds in English, please check these two posts:
- How to Pronounce The /ɪ/ sound Correctly
- How to Pronounce The / iː / Sound Correctly
Vowels: Minimal Pairs /æ/ and /e/
For more information about these two sounds in English, please check these two posts:
bag | beg |
bat | bet |
fast | fest |
man | men |
mantle | mental |
- How to Pronounce The /æ/ Sound Correctly
- How to Pronounce The /e/ Sound Correctly
Vowels: Minimal Pairs /e/ and /eɪ/
Fell | Fell |
Get | Gate |
Let | Late |
Fell | Fail |
Sell | Sale |
Tech | Take |
Well | Whale |
West | Waist |
For more information about these two sounds in English, please check these two posts:
- How to Pronounce The /e/ Sound Correctly
- How to Pronounce The /eɪ/ Sound Correctly
Vowels: Minimal Pairs /æ/ and /ʌ/
Bat | But |
Cap | Cup |
Cat | Cut |
Match | Much |
Ran | Run |
Sang | Sung |
Bag | Bug |
Crash | Crush |
Hang | Hung |
Mad | Mud |
For more information about these two sounds in English, please check these two posts:
- How to Pronounce The /æ/ Sound Correctly
- How to Pronounce The /ʌ/ Sound Correctly
Vowels: Minimal Pairs /e/ and /ɪ/
bed | bid |
Left | Lift |
Mess | Miss |
beg | big |
bell | bill |
Belt | Built |
Bet | Bit |
Bless | Bliss |
Check | Chick |
Dead | Did |
Fell | Fill |
Desk | Disk |
Gem | Gym |
Head | Hid |
Vowels: Minimal Pairs /u:/ and /ɔ:/
boot | bought |
cool | call |
drew | draw |
flew | flaw |
fool | fall |
For more information about these two sounds in English, please check these two posts:
- How to Pronounce The /ɔ:/ Sound Corrrectly
- How to Pronounce The /u:/ Sound Correctly
Vowels and Diphthongs: /ɪ/ and /aɪ/
be | buy |
cream | crime |
delete | delight |
feel | file |
feet | fight |
free | fry |
freeze | fries |
he | high |
meal | mile |
mean | mine |
For more information about these two sounds in English, please check these two posts:
- How to Pronounce The / iː / Sound Correctly
- How to Pronounce The /aɪ/ Sound Correctly
Learn More
These are some posts that you might want to check out
- List of Homophones [Infographic]
- 4 English Pronunciation Activities for Children
- 3 ways to Pronounce the Final S
- 30 Great English Tongue Twisters
- 8 Best English Pronunciation Apps
- Full Guide to English Pronunciation
- 6 Best Pronunciation Websites
- Pronunciation: List of Minimal Pairs
- The British Council Interactive Phonemic Chart