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American English minimal pairs

Minimal pairs: bad and bed

/æ/vs/ɛ/

Hard for speakers of German, Dutch, Mandarin, Japanese and many others, whose languages have one vowel where English has æ and ɛ.

The difference. For /æ/ the jaw drops lower and the lips spread; /ɛ/ is higher and more relaxed.

Practice all pairs

11 word pairs

Say both words in each pair. If Tono colors one of them amber or red, that is the sound to work on.

Contrast sentences

Both sounds in one sentence: the real test of whether you can switch between them.

  1. The bed is not bad at all. Practice
  2. Can you send me the sand? Practice
  3. I had a pain in my head. Practice
  4. Pass me the pen and the pan. Practice

How to practice minimal pairs

  1. Listen to both words in Tono first, one after the other, until you can hear the difference.
  2. Say the pair slowly and exaggerate the difference. Check that both words come back green.
  3. Say the contrast sentences at normal speed. That is where the mix-up usually comes back.

More minimal pairs

Spanish minimal pairsFrench minimal pairsGerman minimal pairs