Minimal Pairs Listening and Pronunciation Practice

The following pages provide listening and pronunciation help based on the use of Minimal Pairs. Each page includes a list of words that differ only in the "minimal" vowel sound. The pairs of words are first read to establish the difference between the sounds. The second section of each page includes a listening quiz using only one of the words from any given pair which then needs to be recognized.

'au' as in 'caught' and 'ir' as in 'earn'

'ae' as in 'cat' and 'eh' as in 'let'

'eh' as in 'let' and 'uh' as in 'up'

'ae' as in 'Cat' and 'u' as in 'Boot'

'u' as in 'boot' and 'uh' as in 'much'