Minimal Pairs — Consonant Contrasts
A2 · Sounds · rice/rise · fan/van · thin/sin · think/sink · cheap/sheep · day/they
Now the consonants. Six contrasts that learners merge every day: the buzz at the end of 'rise', the lip-teeth of 'van', and the famous TH that hides inside 'thin' and 'think'. Hear them, separate them, say them.
Step 1 — Notice
- rice (quiet /s/) vs rise (buzzing /z/) — feel your throat on the last sound.
- fan (air on lip) vs van (teeth on lip + buzz).
- thin/think start with TH — tongue between the teeth.
- cheap starts with /tʃ/ (a 'ch'); sheep starts with /ʃ/ (a long 'sh').
Step 2 — Listen
AI-generated American voice. Natural first, then slow. Listen as many times as you need.
The fan is in the van.
Air-only /f/, then teeth-on-lip /v/.
I think the ship is cheap.
TH, then 'sh', then 'ch' — three different starts.
Rice is cheap.
Quiet /s/ endings — no buzz.
Ear Training — Which Word Did You Hear?
Play the word, then choose what you heard. After you answer, hear both words and compare.
Step 4 — Repeat & Record
Say each model out loud, right after the voice. Then record yourself saying the target line: The fan is in the van.
Record yourself, play it back, and compare with the model. Recordings stay in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Step 5 — Compare & Self-Check
Play your recording from Step 4. Then play the model again. No scores — just honest ears. Tick what you truly did:
Step 6 — Shadow
The text starts hidden. Listen first, then reveal it, then speak with the voice — same rhythm, half a second behind.
I think the van is cheap.
They sell rice and thin soup.
Practice Quiz
Keep going
🇺🇸 Real American Listening — hear it in real conversation🎙️ Speaking Studio — use your voice in dialogues🌱 Vocabulary Builder — words with pronunciation🔗 Phrasal Verbs Lab📚 Graded Stories — shadow a story← Previous lesson · A2 — all lessons · Next: Word Stress Patterns — Families and Job-Changers →
Ad space