path · pass7/20
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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.
path
US IPA: /pæθ/
pass
US IPA: /pæs/
Speed
- 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 vowel 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. So the whole difference is the breath at the end.
Pass ends on a sharp, high hiss. Path ends on a soft, flat breath that sounds more like f than s, and even native speakers mix up th and f. So if the end sounds like f, or like hardly anything at all, it's path.
Studies: Thomson 2018
Listen for
TH is a soft, flat breath. S is a sharp hiss.
More word pairs with these sounds
Hearing TH (think) and S apart: all 15 pairs →Start hearing the difference.
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