Jill Kerper Mora
San Diego State University
A minimal pair consists of two words pronounced alike except for a single phonemic difference. A phoneme is the smallest unit of significantly distinctive sound. The phonemic difference is responsible for radical changes in the meaning of the word, as in hat-hit or thing-sing. Consequently, errors in auditory discrimination and/or articulation of these sounds may result in misunderstanding and misinterpretations of the meaning of the word, phrase or sentence. An abbreviated list of minimal pairs is provided here for the English language teacher.
Examples of Vowel Contrast Pairs
& Sentences
| leave-live | deal-dill | fell-fill |
| cheek-chick | seek-sick | bean-bin |
| deep-dip | sleep-slip | eat-it |
| greet-grit | wheat-whit | heat-hit |
Please SIT in this SEAT.
These shoes should FIT your FEET.
He lost the LEAD/LID.
She wore the NEAT/KNIT suit.
Don’t SLEEP/SLIP on the deck.
| bead-bed | speed-sped | seed-said |
| mean-men | peat-pet | sweet-sweat |
| steam-stem | beast-best | beacon-beckon |
| teen-ten | cheek-check | feed-fed |
The STEP is STEEP.
We MET while buying MEAT.
Some MEN are MEAN.
I FEEL/FELL sick.
We FEED/FED the cat.
| beer-bear | wit-wet | sill-sell |
| bitter-better | tint-tent | wrist-rest |
| rid-red | him-hem | fear-fair |
| hat-hit | pin-pen | steer-stair |
He HID his HEAD.
The girl SLID on the SLED.
This one is BITTER/BETTER.
They LIFT/LEFT ten-pound weights at the gym.
A list of common minimal pairs:
| pear-bear | choke-joke | dare-their |
| boy-buy | cheap-jeep | dough-though |
| pig-big | chin-gin | shot-shout |
| path-bath | choice-Joyce | dime-time |
| rib-crib | coat-goat | die-tie |
| cap-cab | cold-gold | waiting-wading |
| park-bark | coast-ghost | best-bed |
| pill-bill | come-gum | yes-chess |
| Paul-ball | could-good | you-chew |
| tank-thank | came-game | teethe-teeth |
| tin-thin | kick-king | year-cheer |
| true-through | sick-sing | taught-thought |
| sank-thank | they-day | worthy-wordy |
| safe-save | sin-thin | sell-shell |
| tug-tough | free-three | hand-hanged |
| wins-wings | stun-stung | tour-poor |
| proof-prove | fan-than | use-chews |
| married-marriage | chained-change | stayed-stage |
| wedding-wedging | rained-range | climb-crime |
| clutch-crutch | glass-grass | stole-store |
| fought-thought | clown-crown | watching-washing |
| badge-bash | bagging-banging | tugs-tongues |
| raced-raised | priced-prized | wench-quench |
| heed-healed | tide-tired | bugged-buzzed |
| sting-string | skit-skip | hiss-hips |
| won-run | mow-more | wig-rig |
| west-vest | wait-gate | rifle-rival |
| grief-grieve | half-have | fasten-fashion |
| place-plays | grace-graze | piggy-picky |
| grease-crease | braid-bride | neat-knit |
| sow-sue | pegging-pecking | bigger-bicker |
Multiple Contrasts
| bead | bade | booed | bode | bide | bowed |
| teal | tail | tool | toll | tile | towel |
| feel | fail | fool | foal | file | foul |
| bead | bid | bayed | bed | bad | |
| deal | dale | duel | dole | dial | |
| meat | mitt | mate | met | mat | |
| heel | hill | hail | hell | Hal | |
| speak | spake | spook | spoke | spike | |
| peat | pit | pet | pate | pat | |
| cooed | could | cud | code | ||
| heat | hit | hate | hat | ||
| doom | dumb | dome | |||
| greed | grid | grade |
Recognition & Production: Sample Exercises
1. Students number their papers from one to six. Teacher pronounces a group of three words. Two of the words in each group will be the same. Students will identify by number the words that are the same. Ex: lash-lash-rash: 1 and 2 are the same.
2. Students number their papers from one to eight. Teacher pronounces words with a consonant contrast. Students write the consonant they heard in each word. Ex: Write down whether the word ends in /l/ or /r/:
Source: D.L. Nilsen & A. P. Nilsen. 1973.
Pronunciation Contrasts in English. New York: Regents Publishing.
Click here to go to an instructional on the use of minimal pairs for teaching pronunciation.
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