What are minimal pairs?
Two words that differ in one sound only: ship and sheep, full and fool, think and sink. Native speakers hear the difference without thinking. If your first language doesn't have one of the two sounds, your ear files both under the same one, and the words blur together.
This test plays the words in different voices and accents (British, Australian, Indian English), with a little background noise, the way you hear English outside a classroom. Each clip is one word of a pair; tap the one you heard. At the end you see which pairs you mixed up.
Sounds the test checks
- ship / sheep /ɪ/ and /iː/
- full / fool /ʊ/ and /uː/
- bad / bed /æ/ and /e/
- cup / cap /ʌ/ and /æ/
- think / sink /θ/ and /s/
- wine / vine /w/ and /v/
Then train the sounds you missed
Fona is an English pronunciation trainer: short lessons on one pair of sounds each, listening drills, and feedback on every sound when you say the words yourself.