Minimal pair · General American
English /ɛ/ vs /ʌ/Pen or pun?
Focus on the middle vowel, /ɛ/ as in pen or /ʌ/ as in pun. The surrounding consonants stay the same within each pair. Broader vowel-training evidence motivates coverage; this binary pool remains an editorial extrapolation.
Practice these soundsAn open-mid, unrounded vowel
The tongue is toward the front, with a more open vowel position than /e/.
The STRUT vowel
This is the stressed vowel category in the second set of General American examples.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
A small change.
A different word.
Focus on the middle vowel, /ɛ/ as in pen or /ʌ/ as in pun. The surrounding consonants stay the same within each pair. Broader vowel-training evidence motivates coverage; this binary pool remains an editorial extrapolation.
Listen for the target sound in each word.
Sound examples
Tap to hear each word10 words. Words stay hidden during practice unless you choose to reveal them.