crash · crush The difference in meaning and sound
What they mean
Crash means to hit something hard and noisily, or to fail suddenly: "a car crash", "my laptop crashed". Crush means to press something until it breaks or loses its shape: "crush garlic". To "have a crush on" someone is to be infatuated with them.
这些都是 App 里的真实音频，请打开声音。
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 kr at the start rounds the lips and darkens the first moment of both vowels, so the difference shows a beat later. Crash then opens into a wide, bright æ, and crush stays short and central until the sh.
Katakana sets one more trap: clash, a third word, is クラッシュ too. Clash has the æ of crash, with an L in place of the R.
研究： Lambacher et al. 2002 · Lambacher et al. 2005 · Nishi & Kewley-Port 2007
æ（hat）宽而明亮，ʌ（hut）短而放松。
More word pairs with these sounds
听辨 hat 和 hut: all 18 pairs →This collection is free in the app
In the TellApart app, all 18 pairs in this collection are free to practice, with no purchase.
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