The Swear Word Game

Warning: this game contains audio recordings of offensive words. You may not want to play this game at work.

For those who keep saying Excel spreadsh*ts instead of Excel spreadsheets, this game is for you.

How to Play

1. Click the Play Word button (you can click it as many times as you like)
2. Click the word you have heard. The game will tell you if you have got the answer right or wrong. It will then randomly choose another pair of words.
3. If you keep getting the answer wrong, then my online course will help.

Information

1. The game works by showing minimal pairs.
2. shit and sheet are an example of a minimal pair. The words sound the same apart from one sound – the vowel in the middle. Notice the IPA transcriptions: /ʃɪt/ vs /ʃiːt/.
3. By listening to minimal pairs, you can hear the difference between sounds more easily and therefore it will be easier for you to produce that difference in your own speech.
4. This game will also help with your listening comprehension.

Here is a list of words used in the game. The offensive word is on the left.

arse /ɑːs/ vs ice /ʌɪs/
bastard /bɑːstəd/ vs bustard /bʌstəd/ (= a type of bird)
bitch /bɪʧ/ vs beach /biːʧ/
bugger /bʌgə/ vs burger /bəːgə/
cock /kɒk/ vs coke /kəʊk/
cunt /kʌnt/ vs can’t /kɑːnt/
fucked /fʌkt/ vs fact /fakt/
pissed /pɪst/ vs piste /piːst/ (= a ski run of compacted snow)
slag /slag/ vs slug /slʌg/
shit /ʃɪt/ vs sheet /ʃiːt/

Play Word
Score: {{score}}
Reset

Was the word...

{{currentGameInstance.answer1}} {{currentGameInstance.answer1Phonetic}}
or
{{currentGameInstance.answer2}} {{currentGameInstance.answer2Phonetic}}
If you can't distinguish between these words, then I recommend taking my online course.

Tell the world about the swear word game!