Sounds English to me: minimal pairs phonetic training

Welcome to Minimal Pairs Phonetic Training

This application helps you practice distinguishing between similar-sounding English words that differ by just one sound (minimal pairs). Select a level below to begin practicing specific phoneme contrasts.

Each level focuses on different phoneme contrasts:

Level 1: Stop Consonants

Practice distinguishing between voiced and unvoiced stop consonants.

Phoneme Contrasts:

/p/ vs. /b/ /t/ vs. /d/ /k/ vs. /g/

Examples:

pat/bat, tie/die, cap/gap

Start Level 1

Level 2: Fricatives

Practice distinguishing between voiced and unvoiced fricative consonants.

Phoneme Contrasts:

/f/ vs. /v/ /s/ vs. /z/ /θ/ vs. /ð/

Examples:

fan/van, sip/zip, thin/then

Start Level 2

Level 3: Affricates & Approximants

Practice distinguishing between affricates and similar-sounding consonants.

Phoneme Contrasts:

/ʃ/ vs. /tʃ/ /dʒ/ vs. /j/ /r/ vs. /l/

Examples:

ship/chip, jet/yet, right/light

Start Level 3

Level 4: Vowels

Practice distinguishing between similar vowel sounds.

Phoneme Contrasts:

/æ/ vs. /e/ /i/ vs. /ɪ/ /u/ vs. /ʊ/

Examples:

bat/bet, sheep/ship, pool/pull

Start Level 4

What are minimal pairs? Minimal pairs are words that differ by only one sound, like "pat" and "bat". Practicing with minimal pairs helps train your ear to distinguish between similar sounds in English.

Previous versions are still available:

Version 0.7 Version 0.8