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
Wrong starts with r, not w. But the lips still round for the r, so wrong opens with a dark slide that can sound like a faint w. Long starts with the tongue tip raised, and its vowel switches on clean and steady.
Both words end in ng, which lets the vowel run long, so there is plenty of word to listen to. Compare the first moment only: does the vowel start at once (long) or fade in (wrong)?
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.
Free to download, with one purchase to unlock everything. No subscription.