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 f, the L or R lasts only a moment, and the f before it is just breath, so listen to the first instant of the vowel. In fresh, the r darkens and rounds the start of the e; in flesh, the e starts clear and bright.
Fresh is a common loanword in Japanese, フレッシュ, but flesh has no katakana of its own, so many learners hear both as the word they know. If fresh is your first guess, check whether the vowel started clear.
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.
Start hearing the difference.
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