Collection

L vs R

Hearing L and R apart

42 word pairs · 4 levels

Listen for

R has a darker, rounded ring. L sounds lighter and clearer.

This can be trained

Hearing these sounds apart is a skill, not a talent. Studies of high variability phonetic training found that Japanese listeners got better at L vs R after a few weeks of short sessions, and kept the gains months later.

Lv 1

Easy

16 pairs

Short, common words. For consonants, the sound is at the start of the word.

light · right
Where the sound is: Start of the word
lead · read
Where the sound is: Start of the word
lock · rock
Where the sound is: Start of the word
load · road
Where the sound is: Start of the word
lane · rain
Where the sound is: Start of the word
late · rate
Where the sound is: Start of the word
long · wrong
Where the sound is: Start of the word
lice · rice
Where the sound is: Start of the word
lip · rip
Where the sound is: Start of the word
low · row
Where the sound is: Start of the word
Note: row = /roʊ/ (a line), not /raʊ/
law · raw
Where the sound is: Start of the word
lake · rake
Where the sound is: Start of the word
lamp · ramp
Where the sound is: Start of the word
lot · rot
Where the sound is: Start of the word
lap · rap
Where the sound is: Start of the word
lid · rid
Where the sound is: Start of the word

Lv 2

Medium

18 pairs

Clusters, word endings or less common words.

play · pray
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
glass · grass
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
fly · fry
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
clown · crown
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
flesh · fresh
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
blush · brush
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
cloud · crowd
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
glow · grow
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
flame · frame
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
bland · brand
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
climb · crime
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
flee · free
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
blew · brew
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
clue · crew
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
glue · grew
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
flight · fright
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
clash · crash
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster
plank · prank
Where the sound is: Inside a cluster

Lv 3

Hard

8 pairs

Middle of the word and longer words.

collect · correct
Where the sound is: Middle of the word
alive · arrive
Where the sound is: Middle of the word
belly · berry
Where the sound is: Middle of the word
elect · erect
Where the sound is: Middle of the word
miller · mirror
Where the sound is: Middle of the word
file · fire
Where the sound is: End of the word
tile · tire
Where the sound is: End of the word
while · wire
Where the sound is: End of the word

Lv 4

In a sentence

Any pair above, heard inside the carrier sentence.

Example: “Say light again.”
Example: “Say lead again.”

How the app uses this list

Each session plays 20 words from your current level, each one spoken by a different voice. Score 17/20 or better and the next level opens.

Be first to hear the difference.

TellApart is coming to the App Store and Google Play.

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