firm · farm7/20
Which word did you hear?
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Hear both words in 6 voices
Each row is one speaker saying both words. Play one, then the other, and switch to slow when the difference hides.
firm
US IPA: /fɝm/
farm
US IPA: /fɑrm/
Speed
- American woman, younger
- American woman, older
- American man, younger
- American man, older
- British woman, younger
- Australian woman
What's different
Both words end in m, which lets the vowel run long, so you get more vowel to listen to than in a word like hurt. Farm is a deep, open "ah". Firm is the "er" of bird, made with the jaw almost closed.
Spelling helps here. Ir, er and ur all spell the same "er" sound (firm, term, turn), while ar spells "ah" (farm, card, start), except after w, as in warm.
Studies: Lambacher et al. 2002 · Lambacher et al. 2005
Listen for
ɜː (heard) is a muffled, central sound. ɑː (hard) is open and clear.
More word pairs with these sounds
Hearing heard and hard apart: all 12 pairs →Start hearing the difference.
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