Mandarin minimal pairs

The six sets

Each set has its own page with every pair to hear and how to tell them apart.

• zh ch sh vs z c s 47 pairs
• j q x vs zh ch sh 38 pairs
• n vs l 23 pairs
• an vs ang, en vs eng, in vs ing 54 pairs
• ü vs u and ü vs i 23 pairs
• b vs p, d vs t, g vs k 97 pairs

How it works

Press Start: a sound plays and two spellings show. Pick the one you heard (1 or 2, or ← and →); the next plays straight away. Space or the speaker plays it again, slower the second time. Both syllables always have the same tone, so only the sound differs.

Questions

What is a minimal pair in Mandarin?

Two syllables that differ by one sound and nothing else, such as zhī and zī, or fàn and fàng. Hearing them apart is the first step to saying them apart, and to understanding fast speech.

Which pinyin sounds are hardest to hear?

For English speakers: zh, ch, sh against z, c, s and against j, q, x; final -n against -ng; ü against u and i; and the puff of air that tells p, t, k from b, d, g. Those are the six sets here.

Are these real recordings?

Each sound is a real word said by one of two natural ElevenLabs voices, the same as the app’s word cards, and each was checked by machine for the right syllable and tone before it was kept.

Practise the tones too

Tone pair chart: all 20 tone pairs, each a word to hear. Pinyin trainer: hear a word and name its tones. Tone practice: say a word and see your pitch over a native speaker’s. Pinyin chart: every syllable in all four tones.