Minimal Pairs
Click on the sentence or word pair in blue to hear it.
Sound
Vertical
Position
Horizontal
Position
Lip Rounding
Diphthong-ization
Tenseness
[iy] beat
high
front
unrounded
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[i] bit
high
front
unrounded
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Sentences with
Contextual Clues
Please SIT in this SEAT.
These shoes should FIT your FEET.
Do you STILL STEAL?
Those BINS are for BEANS.
They SHIP SHEEP.
Minimal Sentences
He lost the LEAD.
He lost the LID.
This WEEK seems very long.
This WICK seems very long.
FEEL this bag.
FILL this bag.
She wore a NEAT suit.
She wore a KNIT suit.
Don't SLEEP on the deck.
Don't SLIP on the deck.
Minimal Pairs
bead - bid
lead - lid
deed - did
heed - hid
reed - rid
greed - grid
leafed - lift
skied - skid
creeped - crypt
ceased - cyst
leased - list
greased - grist
keyed - kid
steeple - stipple
scheme - skim
gene - gin
ease - is
leave - live
wheeze - whiz
each - itch
beach - bitch
peach - pitch
reach - rich
leak - lick
peak - pick
teak - tick
cheek - chick
sleek - slick
seek - sick
week - wick
deal - dill
meal - mill
real - rill
seal - sill
teal - till
steal - still
eel - ill
feel - fill
heel - hill
keel - kill
kneel - nil
peel - pill
spiel - spill
she'll - shill
we'll - will
ream - rim
team - Tim
deem - dim
bean - bin
dean - din
lean - Lynn
wean - win
sheen - shin
keen - kin
green - grin
seen - sin
teen - tin
heap - hip
cheap - chip
leap - lip
reap - rip
deep - dip
sheep - ship
sleep - slip
seep - sip
sneaker - snicker
fees - fizz
he's - his
breeches - britches
eat - it
beat - bit
heat - hit
cheat - chit
wheat - whit
meat - mitt
neat - knit
peat - pit
seat - sit
feet - fit
skeet - skit
fleet - flit
sleet - slit
greet - grit
tweet - twit
feast - fist
least - list