Appendix:English dialect-dependent homophones

Homophones are words that have the same sound but different meanings (and may or may not have different spellings). This list consists exclusively of homophones that have a different spelling.

Many pairs of English words which have either gained or lost their homophony through phonemic splits and mergers. Where the split or merger is not complete throughout the language this can lead to a situation where a pair of words are homophones in one dialect but not so in another.

This is a list of sets of words which are homophonous in some dialects of English but not others. For other sets of homophones see the list of dialect-independent homophones.

Foot-strut split

 * Note:
 * The following may be homophones in dialects without the foot-strut split. In the northern half of England, bordering areas of North East Wales, and some eastern areas of Ireland, these pairs have the /ʊ/ vowel and there is no /ʌ/ phoneme.  (However, many of the -ook words have the  vowel in some dialects of northern England and Ireland, and so remain distinct).
 * booger/bugger
 * book/buck
 * cook/cuck
 * could/cud
 * courier/currier
 * crooks/crux
 * cwm/come/cum
 * foot/phut
 * Fourier/furrier
 * hook/huck
 * look/luck
 * looks/luxe
 * poof/puff
 * puss/pus
 * put/putt
 * roof/rough
 * shook/shuck
 * stood/stud
 * took/tuck

Trap-bath split

 * Note:
 * The following may be homophones in dialects without the trap-bath split.


 * ant/aunt
 * cant/can't
 * have/halve
 * massed/mast

Bad-lad split

 * Note:
 * The following are not homophones in some dialects with the bad–lad split.


 * an/Ann
 * can (be able to)/can (container)
 * span (spin)/span (space)
 * ran/Wran
 * Manning/manning
 * bade/bad
 * sadist/saddest
 * band/banned

Phonemic æ-tensing

 * Note:
 * The following are not homophones in dialects with the phonemic æ-tensing.


 * can (be able to)/can (container)
 * have/halve
 * Manning/manning

Cot-caught merger

 * Note:
 * The following are homophones in dialects with the cot-caught merger.


 * odd/awed
 * sod/sawed
 * cod/cawed
 * nod/gnawed
 * pod/pawed
 * clod/(clawed/Claud)
 * body/bawdy
 * chock/chalk
 * cock/calk/caulk
 * wok/walk
 * tock/talk
 * tox/talks
 * box/balks
 * fox/Fawkes
 * ox/auks
 * collar/caller
 * holler/hauler
 * squalor/squaller
 * hock/hawk
 * stock/stalk
 * pol/pall/Paul
 * don/dawn
 * shone/(Sean/Shaun/Shawn)
 * yon/yawn
 * John/jawn
 * fond/fawned
 * pond/pawned
 * bronze/brawns
 * notch/nautch
 * cot/caught
 * sot/sought
 * bot/bought
 * tot/taut/taught
 * (knot/not)/(naught/nought)
 * knotty/naughty
 * hottie/haughty
 * rot/wrought
 * tot/(taught/taut)
 * dotter/daughter
 * slotter/slaughter
 * popper/pauper
 * bobble/bauble
 * coddle/caudle
 * doddle/dawdle


 * The following are homophones both in dialects with the cot-caught merger and in some North American dialects without the merger (cf the ON line).


 * on / awn
 * offal / awful

Father-bother merger

 * The following are homophones in dialects with the father-bother merger.


 * baht/bot
 * balm/bomb
 * dal/doll
 * khaki/cocky (except in most American and some Canadian accents)
 * Khan/con
 * sari/sorry (except in some Eastern American and Canadian accents)
 * lager/logger
 * lakh/lock
 * mach/mock
 * Mali/Molly
 * palm/Pom
 * Raab/rob
 * Saab/sob
 * Siân/shone

Cot-caught and father-bother mergers

 * Note:
 * The following are homophones in dialects with both the cot-caught and the father-bother mergers.


 * awe/ah
 * haw/ha
 * paw/pa
 * balk/Bach
 * bought/baht
 * (ball/bawl)/Baal
 * crawl/kraal
 * gnaw/nah
 * law/la
 * maw/ma
 * paw/pa
 * raw/Ra
 * (Sean/Shaun/Shawn)/Siân

FOOT-GOOSE merger

 * Noteː
 * The following are homophones in dialects with the FOOT-GOOSE merger.


 * bull/buhl
 * could/cooed
 * full/fool
 * hood/who'd
 * looker/lucre
 * look/Luke
 * pull/pool
 * should/shooed
 * soot/suit
 * (wood/would)/wooed

Mary-merry-marry merger

 * Note:
 * The following are homophones in dialects with the mary-merry-marry merger.


 * Mary/merry/marry
 * hairy/(harry/Harry)
 * hairier/harrier
 * herald/Harold
 * (fairy/faery)/ferry
 * (berry/bury)/Barry
 * vary/very
 * airer/error
 * tearer/terror
 * perish/parish
 * (faro/pharaoh)/farrow
 * Erin/Aaron (with the weak vowel merger)
 * perry/parry
 * terry/tarry
 * feral/Farrel

Mirror-nearer merger

 * Note:
 * The following are homophones in dialects with the mirror-nearer merger.


 * merer/mirror
 * serious/Sirius
 * serous/cirrus

Horse-hoarse merger

 * Note:
 * The following are homophones in dialects with the horse-hoarse merger.


 * for/(fore/four)
 * forward/foreword (Only in GenAm as it lacks  contrast)
 * or/(oar/ore/o'er)
 * aural/oral
 * aureole/oriole
 * Taurus/torus
 * war/wore
 * (chord/cord)/cored
 * border/boarder
 * horse/hoarse
 * warn/worn
 * born/borne
 * morn/mourn


 * See also:
 * Non-rhotic homophones

Wine-whine merger

 * Note:
 * The following are homophones in dialects with the wine-whine merger.


 * way/weigh/whey
 * wale/wail/whale
 * Wales/wails/whales
 * wear/ware/weir/where
 * weal/we'll/wheal/wheel
 * weald/wield/wheeled
 * wye/Y/why
 * wide/why'd
 * wile/while
 * wild/wiled/whiled
 * wind/wined/wynd/whined
 * wire/why're
 * wise/Y's/whys/why's
 * woe/whoa
 * weather/wether/whether
 * wet/whet
 * word/whirred
 * world/whirled/whorled
 * witch/which
 * whit/wit

H-dropping

 * Note:
 * The following are homophones in dialects with h-dropping


 * arm/harm
 * ardor/harder
 * arc/ark/hark
 * art/heart
 * eat/heat
 * at/hat
 * ash/hash
 * am/ham
 * aft/haft
 * ad/had
 * axe/hacks
 * and/hand
 * oboe/hobo
 * old/hold
 * ohm/home
 * own/hone
 * owe/oh/ho/hoe
 * ow/how
 * ooze/who's/whose
 * oaks/hoax
 * ate/eight/hate
 * ale/ail/hale/hail
 * ear/hear/here
 * it/hit
 * is/his
 * itch/hitch
 * id/hid
 * I/eye/hi/high
 * Ike/hike (
 * I've/hive
 * Ides/hides
 * eyed/hide
 * heir/air/hair/hare
 * otter/hotter
 * edge/hedge
 * elm/helm
 * all/awl/haul/hall
 * eel/heel/heal
 * eat/heat
 * eve/heave
 * earl/hurl
 * awe/haw
 * ore/oar/or/hoar/whore
 * auk/hawk

Yod-dropping and coalescence

 * Yod-coalescence
 * dew/due/Jew
 * dual/duel/jewel
 * dune/June
 * deuce/juice
 * duke/juke


 * Yod-dropping
 * The following are homophones in most dialects of English.


 * threw/(through/thru)
 * brood/brewed
 * rood/rude/rued
 * droop/drupe


 * lieu/loo/Lou
 * lune/loon
 * lute/loot
 * flew/flue/flu
 * slue/slew/slough
 * gloom/glume


 * choose/chews
 * chute/shoot
 * The following are homophones in General American English.


 * dew/due/do
 * undue/undo
 * overdue/overdo
 * tune/toon
 * knew/gnu/new/[nu]
 * The following are homophones in some East Anglian accents.
 * pure/poor
 * beauty/booty
 * mute/moot
 * cute/coot

Th-fronting
The following words are homophonous when th-fronted. Words marked with an asterisk (*) are homophonous only in a non-rhotic accent.
 * Note: The word(s) containing the /f/ or /v/ is mentioned first, with the word(s) containing the /θ/ or /ð/ following.


 * Aoife/ether*
 * barf*/bath
 * beef/Beith
 * breve/breathe
 * café/Cathay
 * caff/Cath
 * clove/clothe
 * deaf/death
 * F/eth
 * faugh/for*/four*/thaw
 * faun/fawn/thorn*
 * feign/fain/thane
 * feoff/fief/thief
 * fervor/further
 * few/thew
 * fie/thigh
 * fill/thill
 * fin/Finn/thin
 * firm/therm
 * first/thirst
 * foal/thole
 * for/four/Thor
 * ford*/thawed
 * fort*/fought/thought
 * Fred/thread
 * free/three
 * fresh/thresh
 * fresher/thresher
 * fret/threat
 * frill/thrill
 * fro/throw
 * froze/throes
 * fug/thug
 * fuse/thews
 * half/hearth*
 * infuse/enthuse
 * laugh/lath
 * lava/lather*
 * lave/lathe
 * leafy/Lethe
 * live/lithe
 * loaf/loath
 * never/nether
 * oaf/oath
 * rave/rathe
 * reef/wreath
 * reive/wreathe
 * rive/writhe
 * roof/Ruth
 * sheaf/sheath
 * sliver/slither
 * whiff/withe

Th-alveolarization
The following words are homophonous when th-alveolarized (/θ/ becomes /s/, and /ð/ becomes /z/). Words marked with an asterisk (*) are homophonous only in a non-rhotic accent.
 * Note: The word(s) containing the /s/ or /z/ is listed first, with the word(s) containing the /θ/ or /ð/ following.


 * bays/bathe
 * breeze/breathe
 * cymbal/symbol/thimble
 * face/faith
 * force/fourth
 * gross/growth
 * kiss/kith
 * lays/laze/lathe
 * mass/math/maths
 * mouse/mouth
 * moss/moth
 * miss/myth
 * Norse/north
 * pass/path
 * piss/pith
 * sank/thank
 * saw/soar*/sore*/thaw
 * sawed/sword*/thawed
 * sawn/thorn*
 * saws/soars*/sores*/thaws
 * seem/theme
 * seems/themes
 * seize/seethe
 * sick/thick
 * sigh/thigh
 * sighs/size/thighs
 * sin/thin
 * sing/thing
 * sings/things
 * sink/think
 * sinking/thinking
 * sinks/thinks
 * sinning/thinning
 * sins/thins
 * soared*/thawed
 * soaring*/thawing
 * soars*/sores*/thaws
 * song/thong
 * songs/thongs
 * sort*/sought/thought
 * sorts*/thoughts
 * sues/soothe
 * sum/thumb
 * sump/thump
 * tense/tenth
 * whizz/with
 * worse/worth
 * zees/these
 * zen/then

Th-debuccalisation

 * Note:
 * For Scottish English speakers with th-debuccalisation, the following pairs are homophonous.


 * Haines/thanes
 * hank/thank
 * hatch/thatch
 * hatches/thatches
 * haw/thaw
 * heard/third
 * herd/third
 * hi/hie/high/thigh
 * hick/thick
 * hin/thin
 * hod/thawed


 * hug/thug
 * Hurst/thirst

Th-stopping
In some Caribbean and Irish accents that merge /θ, ð/ with /t, d/ the following words are homophonous.


 * Bart/bath
 * bayed/bathe
 * Bert/birth
 * boat/both
 * boot/booth
 * breed/breathe
 * Dan/than
 * dare/their/there/they're
 * dare/there
 * day/they
 * den/then
 * dhow/thou
 * dine/thine
 * dirt/dearth
 * diss/this
 * frot/froth
 * got/goth
 * heart/hearth
 * mats/maths
 * met/meth
 * mitt/myth
 * mudder/mother
 * nutting/nothing
 * part/path
 * read/reed/wreathe
 * ride/wrythe
 * tank/thank
 * taught/thought
 * tent/tenth
 * tin/thin
 * tinker/thinker
 * toot/tooth
 * trash/thrash
 * tree/three
 * true/threw/through
 * turd/third
 * udder/other

CommA-lettER merger

 * airier/area
 * formerly/formally
 * manner/manna
 * (miner/minor)/mynah
 * panda-pander
 * rotor/rota

With the weak vowel merger

 * bittern/bitten
 * pattern/(paten/patten)

PALM-START merger

 * arms/alms
 * farther/father
 * far/fah
 * larva/lava
 * spar/spa

PALM-BATH merger

 * aren't/aunt

THOUGHT-FORCE merger

 * court/caught
 * core/corps/caw
 * cores/cause
 * floor/flaw
 * fort/fought
 * hoar/whore/haw
 * lore/law
 * more/maw
 * oar/ore/o'er/awe
 * pore/pour/paw
 * pores/pours/pause/paws
 * roar/raw
 * (soar/sore)/saw
 * source/sauce
 * yore/yaw

THOUGHT-NORTH merger

 * drawers/draws
 * or/ore/o'er/awe
 * porn/pawn
 * rort/wrought
 * sort/sought
 * stork/stalk
 * torque/talk
 * tort/taught/taut

THOUGHT-CURE merger

 * poor/paw
 * your/you're/yaw