Pronunciation Pairs
Can you hear the difference?
Lesson Goal: Train your ears to hear the difference between similar English sounds (Minimal Pairs).
What are Minimal Pairs?
In English, some words sound almost exactly the same. The only difference is one single vowel or consonant sound. These are called Minimal Pairs.
For example, think about the words Ship and Sheep. If you make the vowel sound too long or too short, you might say a completely different word! It is very important to practice listening to these sounds so your brain can learn to separate them.
Go to the next tab to listen to the different word pairs, then test your ears in the Practice tab!
Short 'i' vs Long 'e' 🚢🐑
សំឡេងស្រៈខ្លី និងវែង
Ship
/ʃɪp/ (Short)
កប៉ាល់
Sheep
/ʃiːp/ (Long)
សត្វចៀម
Sound: æ vs ɛ 🦇🎲
សំឡេងស្រៈដែលស្រដៀងគ្នា
Bat
/bæt/ (Wider mouth)
សត្វប្រចៀវ / ដំបងវាយបាល់
Bet
/bet/ (Relaxed mouth)
ការភ្នាល់
Long 'u' vs Short 'u' 🤡🥛
សំឡេងអ៊ូវែង និងអ៊ូខ្លី
Fool
/fuːl/ (Long)
មនុស្សល្ងង់
Full
/fʊl/ (Short)
ពេញ
🎧 Click play to listen:
📝 Which word did you hear?
1. Look at the _______ on the farm.
2. He made a _______ with his friend.
3. Don't be a _______.
Real World Tasks
Practice your pronunciation!