Mastering the American Accent » Commonly Confused Words

Commonly Confused Words

The following pairs of words are often mispronounced and end up sounding the same when spoken by some non-native speakers.

PronunciationExample
sell
sale		e is /ɛ/ as in get
a is /eɪ/ as in take		Would you like to sell it?
Sorry, it’s not for sale.
series
serious		two syllables
three syllables		I love that new TV series.
Are you serious? I hate it.
color
collar		o is /ɘ/ as in fun
o is /ɑ/ as in father		Do you like the color of this shirt?
Yes, but I want one with a collar.
costume
custom		o is /ɑ/ as in father
u is /ɘ/ as in fun		Children wear costumes for Halloween.
Is that an American custom?
been
bean		ee is /I/ as in sit
ee is /i/ as in meet		What have you been cooking?
I’ve been cooking beans.
of
off		f is a /v/ sound
o is /ɑ/ as in father		What are you thinking of?
I’m thinking of taking the day off.
want
won’t		a is /ɑ/ as in father
o is /ou/ as in boat		Do you want to go?
No, I won’t go.
dessert
desert		second syllable stress
first syllable stress		I had dessert after dinner.
They drove through the desert.
where
were		er is /ɛɘr/ as in care
er is /ɘr/ as in bird		Where did they go?
They were here a minute ago.
wonder
wander		o is /ɘ/ as in fun
a is /ɑ/ as in father		I wonder where they are.
They’re probably wandering in the forest.
warm
worm		or is /ɔr/ as in for
or is /ɚ/ as in bird		It’s a warm day.
There’s a worm in my apple.
woman
women		o is /ʊ/ as in good
o is /I/ as in sit		She is a nice woman.
All of the women here are nice.
potty
party		t is almost /d/ sounds like “pardy” (“fast d” sound)The little boy wants to go potty.
He’s at the birthday party.

Favorite Books
4000 Essential English Words 6

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 6: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 5

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 5: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 4

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 4: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 3

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 3: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 2

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 2: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 1

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 1: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
Speak English Like an American

If you already speak some English and now would like to speak more like a native, “Speak English Like an American” will help you. One of the keys to speaking like a native is the ability to use and understand casual expressions, or idioms. American English is full of idioms. Speak English Like an American will help you understand and use idioms better. It contains over 300 of today's most common idioms.

Read more
Table of Contents