Minimal Pair /ɒ/ and /əʊ/

as in not and note

Below is a list of words that vary only by one having the vowel sound /ɒ/ and the other the vowel sound /əʊ/.

You can use this list to practise the sounds, or as a list of words to be careful in pronouncing.

/ɒ/ is a short single sound made without the mouth moving. /əʊ/ is a diphthong -- a longer sound made of two sounds -- meaning that the mouth moves during production of the sound.

Elementary

not note

want won’t

Pre-Intermediate

got goat

hop hope

on own

Intermediate

cost coast

non known

odd owed

rod road

rot wrote

sop soap

stock stoke

tossed toast

wok woke

Upper-Intermediate

block bloke

bond boned

bossed boast

clock cloak

cock coke

cod code

col coal

cop cope

god goad

jock joke

mod mode

pop pope

rob robe

rod rode

ROM roam

shod showed

smock smoke

sock soak

sod sewed

Advanced

blot bloat

bod bode

bonze bones

chock choke

cocks coax

con cone

crock croak

doss dose

dot dote

foggy fogey

glob globe

hod hoed

lob lobe

lop lope

mod mowed

mop mope

mot mote

nod node

odd ode

rot rote

slop slope

sod sowed

tock toke

tod toad

tot tote

Alex Case, founder TeflTasticAlex Case is the author of TEFLtastic and the Teaching...: Interactive Classroom Activities series of business and exam skills e-books for teachers. He has been a teacher, teacher trainer, director of studies, and editor in Turkey, Thailand, Spain, Greece, Italy, UK, Korea and now Japan. He has published a book with Macmillan and hundreds of articles, reviews, lesson plans and worksheets with Onestopenglish, Modern English Teacher and many others. In addition to contributing articles and teaching ideas to Tefl.NET, Alex for many years edited Tefl.NET Book Reviews.

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