Tono
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American English minimal pairs

Minimal pairs: think and sink

/θ/vs/s/

Hard for speakers of French, German, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean, who replace the TH with the nearest sound they have.

The difference. For /θ/ the tongue touches the teeth; for /s/ it stays behind them and the air hisses.

Practice all pairs

12 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. I think the boat will sink. Practice
  2. Is that a mouse near your mouth? Practice
  3. It is worth it, but it could be worse. Practice
  4. Thank you, the ball sank on the first try. 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 TH in English (/θ/ and /ð/)

More minimal pairs

Spanish minimal pairsFrench minimal pairsGerman minimal pairs