Spanish (Spain) minimal pairs

Minimal pairs: casa and caza

/s/vs/θ/

Hard for learners who expect the Spanish z to sound like the English z, and for speakers of French, German, Chinese and Japanese, whose languages have no th sound.

The difference. For s the tongue stays behind the teeth and the air hisses; for z, and for c before e or i, the tongue tip rests between the teeth, as in English “think”.

This difference belongs to Spain. In Latin America and the Canary Islands casa and caza sound the same, and both ways are correct. Tono scores Spanish against the Spain model, so it expects the th sound here.

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.

casa caza Practice
coser cocer Practice
sien cien Practice
siento ciento Practice
poso pozo Practice
masa maza Practice
seta zeta Practice
sumo zumo Practice
abrasar abrazar Practice
casar cazar Practice
asar azar Practice
losa loza Practice

Contrast sentences

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

Esta casa es para ir de caza. Practice
Lo siento, son ciento veinte euros. Practice
El azar decide quién va a asar la carne. Practice
Voy a coser un botón y a cocer la pasta. Practice

How to practice minimal pairs

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

More minimal pairs

English minimal pairs French minimal pairs German minimal pairs