Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

minimal pair

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.01 in modern English

Syllables: min-i-mal -pair
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A pair of words differing by only one phonetic segment or suprasegment, used to prove the validity of a proposed phoneme, toneme, or chroneme.

Inflected Forms

minimal pairs (plural)

Phrases

near-minimal pair

Frequently Paired Words

near-minimal pair

Questions

What does minimal pair mean?: A pair of words differing by only one phonetic segment or suprasegment, used to prove the validity of a proposed phoneme, toneme, or chroneme.

How to pronounce minimal pair

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “minimal pair”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “minimal pair” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.