B and V minimal pairs
Pronunciation guides
If you are looking for detailed instructions on how to pronounce the B sound, you can find them on the P and B minimal pairs page.
For a guide on how to pronounce the V sound, check out the F and V minimal pairs page.
B and V minimal pairs list
Here is a fairly comprehensive list of words with the minimal pairs B and V. Note that depending on your region, such as the USA, or the UK, some words (vase and bars for example) may be pronounced differently. In this case, they may not be considered minimal pairs.
The first list has the minimal pairs in the initial sound. The second list has them in the middle and the final sound.
| bale - veil | ballet - valet | ban - van | bane vein |
|---|---|---|---|
| banish - vanish | bars - vars | bat - vat | beer - veer |
| bencher - venture | bent - vent | berry - very | best - vest |
| bet - vet | better - vetter | bicker - vicar | bid - vid |
| bile - vile | biz viz | boat - vote | boater- voter |
| bolt -vault | bow - vow | bowel - vowel | bowl - vole |
| broom - vroom | buried - varied | bury - very | buy - vie |
| cupboard - covered | curb - curve | dribble - drivel | dub - dove |
|---|---|---|---|
| fibre - fiver | gibbon given | jibe - jive | labor - laver |
| lobes - loaves | lubber - lover | marble - marvel | rebel - revel |
| robe - rove | saber - savor | strobe - strove | verb - verve |
Minimal pairs B and V practice sentences
Here are some fun sentences you can use with your students to practice making the B and V sounds correctly.
He covered the cupboard with his best vest.
She held the loaves to the lobes of her ears.
We were given a gibbon.
There are bent bolts on the vault vent.
The valet said there was a ban on vans at the ballet.
There is a very big bat in the berry vat.
He vanished before he was banished.
I bet a vet that the dove didn’t like dub.
For more sentences that focus on the B sound be sure to have a look at the 45 fun B tongue twisters!
