Minimal pair · Contemporary Standard Russian
Russian /d/ vs /t/Дом or том?
Learn to hear the difference between d and t in Russian words.
Practice these sounds/d/
A voiced tongue closure
Compare this opening consonant with /t/ while keeping the rest of the word out of the decision.
As inдом
/t/
An unvoiced tongue closure
A brief stop near the front of the mouth. The target here is the first consonant.
As inтом
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
A small change.
A different word.
Дом/том and дочка/точка contrast /d/ and /t/ at the beginning of a word. The target distinction is initial, where both categories can be heard.
Listen for the target sound in each word.
A common trap
Russian final devoicing means a written voiced consonant does not necessarily remain voiced at the end of an isolated word. These pairs deliberately avoid that trap.
Sound examples
Tap to hear each wordдом
/dom/house; homeдочка
/ˈdotɕka/daughterдым
/dɨm/smokeдар
/dar/giftдуб
/dup/oakтом
/tom/volume of a bookточка
/ˈtotɕka/point; dotтам
/tam/thereток
/tok/current; flowтыл
/tɨl/rear; back10 words. Words stay hidden during practice unless you choose to reveal them.