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
The l in light ends with a quick release: the tongue tip drops from the ridge behind the teeth, and the vowel is there at once. The r in right touches nothing, so it melts into the vowel slowly, and the start of the word seems to rise.
After that, both words share the same "ai" glide and the same final t, which American voices often cut short with a catch in the throat. Everything you need is in the first tenth of a second, so replay the start of each word, and switch to Slow if it helps.
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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