Master the English sound pairs learners most often mix up — Ship/Sheep, Pen/Pin, Thin/Sin, V/W, R/L and more. Each module drills one pair until you can produce the distinction reliably.
- 1
Module 1 · 1 lessons
Ship vs sheep
Short /ɪ/ is relaxed and short; long /i/ is tense and held. Many learners merge them.
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Module 2 · 1 lessons
Pen vs pin
/ɛ/ is more open than /ɪ/. Some Southern speakers merge them before nasals.
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Module 3 · 1 lessons
Bad vs bed
/æ/ is lower and more open than /ɛ/. Critical for words like 'bad' vs 'bed'.
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Module 4 · 1 lessons
Cut vs cot
/ʌ/ is central and short ('cut'); /ɑ/ is back and open ('cot'). Dock vs Duck.
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Module 5 · 1 lessons
Cot vs caught
Many GenAm speakers merge these (cot-caught merger). When distinct, /ɔ/ is more rounded.
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Module 6 · 1 lessons
Pull vs pool
/ʊ/ is relaxed and short; /u/ is tense and held with rounded lips.
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Module 7 · 1 lessons
Wait vs wet
/eɪ/ is a diphthong gliding to /ɪ/; /ɛ/ is a pure short vowel.
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Module 8 · 1 lessons
Boat vs bought
/oʊ/ glides from mid to high-back; /ɔ/ is a steady open-mid back vowel.
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Module 9 · 1 lessons
Thin vs sin
/θ/ is tongue-between-teeth (interdental); /s/ is tongue-behind-teeth (alveolar).
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Module 10 · 1 lessons
Thin vs fin
/θ/ uses the tongue; /f/ uses the lower lip against upper teeth. Common substitution.
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Module 11 · 1 lessons
Then vs den
/ð/ is a soft voiced interdental fricative; /d/ is a stop.
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Module 12 · 1 lessons
Bus vs buzz
Voiceless /s/ vs voiced /z/. Word-final /z/ is often devoiced by learners.
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Module 13 · 1 lessons
Vine vs fine
Voiced /v/ vs voiceless /f/. Both are labiodental — only voicing differs.
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Module 14 · 1 lessons
Ship vs chip
/ʃ/ is a continuous fricative; /tʃ/ starts with a stop then releases into /ʃ/.
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Module 15 · 1 lessons
Vine vs wine
Indian-language speakers often merge /v/ and /w/ into a single labiodental approximant.
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Module 16 · 1 lessons
Rice vs lice
East-Asian languages collapse /r/ and /l/. /r/ uses curled tongue tip; /l/ touches the ridge.
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Module 17 · 1 lessons
Think vs tink
European languages without /θ/ often substitute /t/. Tongue must touch upper teeth, not the ridge.
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Module 18 · 1 lessons
Then vs zen
/ð/ often replaced with /z/ by speakers whose L1 lacks interdentals.
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Module 19 · 1 lessons
Sheep vs ship (collapse risk)
Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, and Arabic speakers tend to collapse /i/-/ɪ/ to a single /i/.
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Module 20 · 1 lessons
Ban vs van
Spanish merges /b/ and /v/. English /v/ requires lower-lip-on-upper-teeth contact.
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Module 21 · 1 lessons
Measure vs major
/ʒ/ is a soft fricative; /dʒ/ starts with a stop. Common confusion between rare /ʒ/ and the more familiar /dʒ/.