I haven’t done lists of all of these yet (there are links to the ones I have), some might not have any actual minimal pairs in English,

and I also realise that some of these are not things that would traditionally be in a list of minimal pairs – more on that topic in the next post.

Consonant sounds (in any position)

b and v (ban and van)

l and r (lead and read) (plus a whole article on the topic – NEW)

k and kw (qu) (kick and quick) 

th and s (thin and sin)

th and z (then and Zen)

Consonant vowel combinations (in any position)

chi and ti (chip and tip) – select from general list of ch/ t minimal pairs here.

di and dji (dip and gip) and dee and djee (deep and jeep) – select from general list of d/dj minimal pairs here.

fu and hu (fun and hun) – select from general list of f/h minimal pairs here.

dji and zi (jig and zig) and djee and zee (G and Z) – select from general list of d/z minimal pairs here.

si and shi (sit and shit) and see and shee (see and she) – select from general list of s/ sh minimal pairs here.

Vowel sounds (in any position)

a and u (cat and cut)

ar and ur (far and fur)

O and or (so and sore)

e and ei (rarely, due to spelling in katakana rather than the sounds not being distinct in Japanese)

Consonants at the end of words or syllables

final b and bu/boo (tab and taboo)

final ch and chi

final d and do/doe (conned and condo)

final d and du/doo

final dz and z (vids and viz)

final f and fu/foo

final g and go/goo (rag and ragout)

final j and ji (cage and cagey) 

final k and koo (cook and cuckoo)

final k and ki (stick and sticky)

final l and lu/loo

final m and mu/moo

final m and n

some problems with final n and ng

final nk and nku/ nkoo

final p and pu/ poo

final r and ru/ roo

final s and su/ soo

final sh and shi (flash and flashy)

final sh and shu/ shoo

final t and to/ toe (ought and auto)

final t and ts

final z and zu/ zoo

Consonant clusters at the beginning of words and syllables

bl and bul

br and bur

dr and dor

fl and ful

fr and fur

gl and gul

gr and gur

kl and kul

kr and kur

sk and squ

sk and suk

sl and sul

sm and sum

sn and sun

sp and sup (like super and spa)

st and sut

tr and tor

Vowels at the beginning of words

ee and yee

oo and you

Related pages

Minimal pairs for Korean learners of English

Pronunciation main page (with links to more minimal pairs stuff)

Updated 24 April 2026