Vowel pairs
15 phrasesHD
ship sheep
JA船／羊
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
The difference is not length. i keeps the tongue high and the lips spread and tense; ɪ lets the tongue drop and the mouth go slack. Say sheep tight, then loosen everything for ship. A Japanese イ is tenser than ɪ, so ship keeps coming out as sheep until you relax it.
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sit seat
JA座る／座席
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
The same pair, quicker. seat holds the tense vowel; sit relaxes it, and comes out shorter as a by-product, not as the point.
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bin bean
JAごみ箱／豆
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
bean is the tense one. If the two sound the same, it is ɪ that has gone missing - let the jaw fall a little for bin.
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bed bad
JAベッド／悪い
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
æ opens wider and lower than ɛ, the jaw dropped and the sound spread flat, halfway to ah. bad is not bed said louder. Neither vowel is Japanese, and both tend to collapse into エ - so open bad further than feels right.
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pen pan
JAペン／フライパン
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
pan drops the jaw; pen keeps it half-closed. The vowel of pan is the harder one - push it more open than you think it needs.
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men man
JA男たち／男
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
Only the vowel tells them apart, and here it also tells one man from many. men sits higher and tighter; man drops lower and wider.
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cat cut
JA猫／切る
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
æ is a front vowel, bright and spread under a wide smile; ʌ is central and dull, the mouth at rest in the middle. cat sits forward, cut sits in the centre. Both reach a Japanese ear as ア, which is why they merge - one forward and flat, the other central and slack.
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bat but
JAバット／しかし
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
but is the relaxed central one - the mouth does almost nothing. bat pushes the sound forward and spreads the lips.
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ran run
JA走った／走る
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
run rests in the middle of the mouth; ran brings the vowel forward and flattens it. Past and present part on the vowel alone.
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nut not
JA木の実／〜でない
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
ɑ opens the mouth wide with the tongue low and back; ʌ keeps it half-open and central. not drops the jaw all the way, nut only halfway. In American English the o of not is this wide, unrounded ɑ - do not round the lips for it.
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luck lock
JA運／鍵をかける
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
lock opens wide and low; luck stays central and short. Again, keep the lips unrounded for lock - American ɑ has no lip-rounding at all.
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full fool
JAいっぱいの／ばか
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
u pushes the lips into a tight round and holds; ʊ rounds them loosely and lets go. fool is long and pursed, full short and slack. A Japanese ウ has almost no rounding, so both drift towards it - purse hard for fool, and keep ʊ loose but still pulled back.
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pull pool
JA引く／プール
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
pool purses the lips and holds them there; pull loosens them at once. Here the lips do the work, not the length.
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pin pen
JAピン／ペン
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
ɪ sits higher and tighter, ɛ a step lower and more open. pin keeps the tongue high; pen drops it. Some American speakers merge these before n, but the vowels themselves are distinct - keep pin above pen.
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tin ten
JAブリキ／十
Two words that differ in one vowel and nothing else. English hangs meaning on that difference; where your ear hears one word, a listener hears two. Say each pair until it splits.
ten opens a little lower than tin. A small move, but the vowel is the only thing keeping the two apart.
Vowel pairs in English: all 15 on one list
| English | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ship sheep | /ʃɪp ʃip/ | 船／羊 |
| sit seat | /sɪt sit/ | 座る／座席 |
| bin bean | /bɪn bin/ | ごみ箱／豆 |
| bed bad | /bɛd bæd/ | ベッド／悪い |
| pen pan | /pɛn pæn/ | ペン／フライパン |
| men man | /mɛn mæn/ | 男たち／男 |
| cat cut | /kæt kʌt/ | 猫／切る |
| bat but | /bæt bʌt/ | バット／しかし |
| ran run | /ræn rʌn/ | 走った／走る |
| nut not | /nʌt nɑt/ | 木の実／〜でない |
| luck lock | /lʌk lɑk/ | 運／鍵をかける |
| full fool | /fʊl ful/ | いっぱいの／ばか |
| pull pool | /pʊl pul/ | 引く／プール |
| pin pen | /pɪn pɛn/ | ピン／ペン |
| tin ten | /tɪn tɛn/ | ブリキ／十 |
Vowel pairs in English - 15 phrases you can play on a loop until they stick. Each one shows the characters, the reading and the meaning in six languages.