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
After the k, the two words are identical: the vowel glides from "ah" to "oo" and ends on d. So the whole difference is packed into the moment between the k and the vowel, while air from the k is still escaping.
In crowd, that moment sounds like a quick w: the lips round, and the vowel starts darker and lower. In cloud, the k opens straight into a light l, and the vowel starts bright. If you can't hear it at normal speed, the slow takes stretch the l and r enough to notice.
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
Hearing L and R apart: all 42 pairs →Start hearing the difference.
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