Minimal Pair /f/ and /h/
as in fat and hat
Below is a list of words that vary only by one having the sound /h/ and the other having the sound /f/.
You can use this list to practise the sounds, or as a list of words to be careful in pronouncing.
/h/ is pronounced with a puff of air from a wide open mouth so that, for example, "ha" can be said without changing your mouth position. It is similar to blowing steam onto your glasses so you can clean them and a bit like a sigh.
/f/ is pronounced with a much smaller mouth than /h/, with the teeth near or touching the bottom lip. This means that, unlike "ha", you have to open your mouth wider to say the second part of the word "far". Using the same mouth position as /f/, your voice produces the sound /v/.
/f/ is pronounced with a much smaller mouth than /h/, with the teeth near or touching the bottom lip. This means that, unlike "ha", you have to open your mouth wider to say the second part of the word "far". Using the same mouth position as /f/, your voice produces the sound /v/.
Elementary
fat hat
feel he'll
Pre-Intermediate
fair hair
fall hall
far ha
fed head
feel heel
fee he
feet heat
fir her
fit hit
fizz his
funny honey
Intermediate
fail hail
farm harm
fart heart
fate hate
fear hear
fees he's
fight height
fill hill
five hive
force horse
found hound
four whore
fun Hun
phone hone
Upper-Intermediate
faced haste
fad had
fare hare
feed he’d
fell hell
fence hence
few hew
foal whole
foam home
fog hog
Advanced
fag hag
fang hang
fawn horn
fey hay
fob hob
foe hoe
foes hose
fop hop
fore haw
fowl howl
funky hunky
furl hurl
phase haze