If you can't hear it,
you can't say it.
Ship or sheep? Work or walk? English has pairs of sounds most languages don't separate. Train your ears with quick listening drills — two words, one difference, five American voices.
🇺🇸 American English, for now. Every drill uses General American, the accent you hear in movies, podcasts, and meetings. More languages will follow if you ask.
Free, no account needed. IPA follows the American IPA Chart.
1. Listen
You hear one word — sometimes said by a woman, sometimes by a man. Real training needs many voices.
2. Choose
Two words on screen, one sound of difference. Tap the one you heard.
3. Learn instantly
Immediate feedback, then hear both words back to back until the difference clicks.
Vowel contrasts
The colors of the American IPA Chart — every vowel has one.
ship vs sheep
The #1 pain for French, Spanish, and Italian speakers
bed vs bad
Hard for almost every learner of English
cat vs cut
Tricky for French and Spanish speakers
luck vs lock
Hard for French, Spanish, and Portuguese speakers
full vs fool
Hard for French, Spanish, and Italian speakers
coast vs cost
Hard for Spanish, Italian, and Japanese speakers
late vs let
Hard for Spanish, Italian, and Japanese speakers
work vs walk
The classic French-speaker mix-up
Consonant contrasts
Small mouth moves, big misunderstandings.
think vs sink
The sound French and German speakers can't hear
day vs they
For French, Spanish, and German speakers
berry vs very
For Spanish and Portuguese speakers
vine vs wine
For German, Polish, and Indian-English speakers
hair vs air
The classic French and Italian speaker trap
light vs right
For Japanese, Korean, and Chinese speakers
ship vs chip
For French, Spanish, and Portuguese speakers
yet vs jet
For Spanish and Scandinavian speakers
Based on High Variability Phonetic Training: hearing a contrast from many different voices is what makes it stick.
Ready to speak, not just listen? Practice real conversations with Gliglish.