Real clips from the app. Turn your sound on.
Hear both words in 10 voices
Each row is one speaker saying both words. Play one, then the other, and switch to slow when the difference hides.
- American woman, younger
- American woman, older
- American man, younger
- American man, older
- British woman, younger
- British woman, older
- British man, younger
- British man, older
- Australian woman
- Australian man
What's different
Before an r, the t sounds almost like ch, so both words start "chr-". That start is identical, and so is the k at the end: everything rides on the vowel in between.
Track opens into a wide, bright æ, and truck stays short and relaxed. The k cuts both vowels short, so don't listen for length; listen for how open the mouth sounds.
Studies: Lambacher et al. 2002 · Lambacher et al. 2005 · Nishi & Kewley-Port 2007
æ (hat) is wide and bright. ʌ (hut) is short and relaxed.
More word pairs with these sounds
Hearing hat and hut apart: all 18 pairs →This collection is free in the app
In the TellApart app, all 18 pairs in this collection are free to practice, with no purchase.
Start hearing the difference.
Free to download, with one purchase to unlock everything. No subscription.