Minimal Pairs /ɪə/ And /eə/ (Here And Hair)
28 pairs of words that differ only in /ɪə/ and /eə/. /ɪə/ is a diphthong and /eə/ is a diphthong.
| With /ɪə/ | With /eə/ |
|---|---|
| ear /ɪə/ | air /eə/ |
| ear /ɪə/ | heir /eə/ |
| beer /bɪə/ | bare /beə/ |
| beer /bɪə/ | bear /beə/ |
| dear /dɪə/ | dare /deə/ |
| deer /dɪə/ | dare /deə/ |
| fear /fɪə/ | fair /feə/ |
| fear /fɪə/ | fare /feə/ |
| hear /hɪə/ | hair /heə/ |
| here /hɪə/ | hair /heə/ |
| leer /lɪə/ | lair /leə/ |
| mere /mɪə/ | mare /meə/ |
| peer /pɪə/ | pair /peə/ |
| peer /pɪə/ | pare /peə/ |
| peer /pɪə/ | pear /peə/ |
| rear /rɪə/ | rare /reə/ |
| year /jɪə/ | yeah /jeə/ |
| mere /mɪə/ | mayor /meə/ |
| we're /wɪə/ | wear /weə/ |
| weary /ˈwɪə.ri/ | wary /ˈweə.ri/ |
| cheer /tʃɪə/ | chair /tʃeə/ |
| sheer /ʃɪə/ | share /ʃeə/ |
| sneer /snɪə/ | snare /sneə/ |
| spear /spɪə/ | spare /speə/ |
| steer /stɪə/ | stair /steə/ |
| steer /stɪə/ | stare /steə/ |
| we're /wɪə/ | where /weə/ |
| really /ˈrɪə.li/ | rarely /ˈreə.li/ |
Questions Students Ask
What are minimal pairs for /ɪə/ and /eə/?
Word pairs that differ only in /ɪə/ and /eə/ in the same position, such as ear and air. This page lists 28 of them.
Why practise minimal pairs?
Because the two words mean different things, a minimal pair proves that the two sounds are separate phonemes. Saying and hearing them side by side trains you to keep the sounds apart.
More Minimal Pairs
/p/ And /b/ (60)/t/ And /d/ (60)/k/ And /ɡ/ (60)/f/ And /v/ (34)/s/ And /z/ (33)/f/ And /p/ (60)/v/ And /b/ (23)/v/ And /w/ (15)/θ/ And /s/ (28)/θ/ And /t/ (27)/θ/ And /f/ (11)/ð/ And /d/ (17)/ð/ And /z/ (7)/s/ And /ʃ/ (49)/tʃ/ And /ʃ/ (27)/tʃ/ And /dʒ/ (9)/j/ And /dʒ/ (8)/l/ And /r/ (60)/m/ And /n/ (60)/n/ And /ŋ/ (12)/h/ And /f/ (42)/ɪ/ And /iː/ (60)/ɪ/ And /e/ (51)/e/ And /æ/ (44)/æ/ And /ʌ/ (60)/æ/ And /ɑː/ (22)/ʌ/ And /ɑː/ (25)/ɒ/ And /ʌ/ (36)/ɒ/ And /ɔː/ (12)/ɜː/ And /ɑː/ (22)/e/ And /eɪ/ (52)/əʊ/ And /ɔː/ (60)/aɪ/ And /eɪ/ (60)/ɪə/ And /eə/ (28)