Tono
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American English minimal pairs

Minimal pairs: light and right

/l/vs/ɹ/

Hardest for speakers of Japanese and Korean, which have one sound between R and L; also hard for speakers of Cantonese, who often use L for both.

The difference. For /l/ the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the top teeth; for /ɹ/ it touches nothing and the lips round a little.

Practice all pairs

14 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. Turn right at the light. Practice
  2. The road was closed with a heavy load on it. Practice
  3. Put the glass down on the grass. Practice
  4. Did it arrive alive? 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.

Step-by-step help with these sounds: How to pronounce R and L in English

More minimal pairs

Spanish minimal pairsFrench minimal pairsGerman minimal pairs