Minimal Pairs final /t/ and /d/

hat and had

Below are lists of words that vary only by one having the final sound /t/ and the other the final sound /d/. You can use this to practise the sounds or as a list of words to be careful to pronounce properly.

Partly because the pronunciation of final /t/ and initial /t/ are very different, even students who don’t have general problems with /d/ and /t/ can have problems recognising and pronouncing these two sounds at the end of words.

Elementary
ant* and
at add*
bat bad
bet* bed
but bud*
cat cad*
eight aid*
fat fad*
feet feed*
got god
hat had
hot hod*
it id*
meet mead*
not nod*
short shored*
wait weighed*
write ride

Pre-Intermediate
bought bored
cart card
heart hard
hit hid
hurt heard
mat mad
meant mend
neat need
plate played
sat sad
sent send
set said
sheet she’d
sight side
spent spend
state stayed
taught toured

Intermediate
beat bead*
bent bend
bright bride
cute queued
debt dead
heat heed*
height hide
kit kid
oat owed
pat pad
port poured
pot pod
quit quid*
route rude
slight slide
sought sawed
tent tend
tight tied

Upper-Intermediate
bleat* bleed
cot cod
fate fade
float flowed
font fond
gloat* glowed
haunt horned*
moat* mode
mount mound
plot plod*
scant* scanned
site sighed
skit* skid
slit slid
spite spied
stunt stunned
tint tinned
trot* trod

Advanced/Proficiency
blurt blurred
clot clod
faint feigned
goat goad
grit grid
nought gnawed
pant panned
peat peed
pert purred
plaint planed
pleat plead
punt punned
shunt shunned
skint skinned
spurt spurred
stoat stowed
tart tarred
teat teed

* the meaning of the word is not important at this level, but it can still be used to contrast the pronunciation with the other word.