Real clips from the app. Turn your sound on.
Hear both words in 9 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
What's different
Unlike p or k, g is voiced, so the L or R after it isn't whispered: the voice is already on, and you can hear the tongue move. In glass, the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the top teeth and lets go, and the vowel starts bright. In grass, the tongue touches nothing and the lips round, so the vowel starts darker, almost with a quick w.
The vowel itself is the same in both words, though it changes with the accent: American voices say the a of cat, most others the longer a of father. Either way it can't help you, so compare only the moment after the g, and switch to Slow, where the l and r are stretched.
Studies: Logan et al. 1991 · Lively et al. 1993 · Lively et al. 1994 · Bradlow et al. 1997 · Bradlow et al. 1999
R has a darker, rounded ring. L sounds lighter and clearer.
More word pairs with these sounds
- play · pray
- flesh · fresh
- light · right
- long · wrong
- cloud · crowd
- fly · fry
- collect · correct
- clown · crown
Start hearing the difference.
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