TREE or TEA? (/tɹi/ or /ti/) English pronunciation listening practice training with minimal pairs
Many English learners have difficulty with the English "r" consonant sound (/ɹ/), especially when it is part of a consonant cluster, where it follows another consonant or consonants.
This activity is intended to help you hear the difference between the consonant cluster (/tɹ/) and the consonant (/t/) more clearly using minimal pairs.
This video has many examples of the minimal pair words 'tree' (/tɹi/) and 'tea' (/ti/, homonyms 'tee' and the name of the letter T) spoken with North American English pronuniciation. The only difference in the pronunciation of these words is the initial consonant sounds /t/ and /θ/ (written 'th' as in 'thin').
Listen to each word and decide if you are hearing the word 'tree', which starts with /tɹ/, or 'tea', which starts with /t/. Pause the video if you need more time. Each sample will play three times, and on the third time you will see the correct answer. See how many you can get right!