Tono
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American English minimal pairs

Minimal pairs: very and berry

/v/vs/b/

Hard for speakers of Spanish, Japanese and Korean, whose languages have no separate V sound.

The difference. For /v/ the top teeth rest on the bottom lip and the air keeps buzzing; for /b/ both lips close and open with a pop.

Practice all pairs

9 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. That berry is very sweet. Practice
  2. Did you vote on the boat? Practice
  3. This is the best vest I have. Practice
  4. The van was hit by the new ban. 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 V and W in English

More minimal pairs

Spanish minimal pairsFrench minimal pairsGerman minimal pairs