path vs pat: hear and say the difference
path and pat are identical except for one sound: path has the voiceless th, /θ/, and pat has the t sound, /t/. T stops the air completely with the tongue on the ridge; TH never stops it — the tongue touches the teeth lightly and the air keeps hissing through.
The two words
The difference
What actually changes
T stops the air completely with the tongue on the ridge; TH never stops it — the tongue touches the teeth lightly and the air keeps hissing through.path — /θ/
- Lips
- Relaxed and slightly apart — they must not close.
- Tongue
- Tip just touching, or peeking between, the front teeth.
- Jaw
- Slightly open so the tongue can reach the teeth.
pat — /t/
- Lips
- Neutral and slightly apart.
- Tongue
- Tip up against the bumpy ridge behind the top teeth, sides sealed.
- Jaw
- Slightly open and still.
Each word in a sentence
path
Follow the path to the gate.
pat
Give the dog a pat.
Why this pair is hard
Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Thai and Vietnamese all map English TH onto a dental t, so the airflow stops where English wants friction. The fix is the same for all of them: move the tip forward to the teeth and refuse to close off the air.
Straight answers
What is the difference between "path" and "pat"?
One sound. path is /pɑːθ/ and pat is /pæt/ — everything else in the two words is identical, so that single contrast carries the whole meaning. T stops the air completely with the tongue on the ridge; TH never stops it — the tongue touches the teeth lightly and the air keeps hissing through.
Why do I say "path" and "pat" the same way?
Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Thai and Vietnamese all map English TH onto a dental t, so the airflow stops where English wants friction. The fix is the same for all of them: move the tip forward to the teeth and refuse to close off the air.
Should I train my ear or my mouth first?
Your ear. If you cannot reliably hear which word was said, your mouth has no target to aim at, and drilling produces a sound you cannot check. Run the listening test on this page until you are scoring four or five out of five, then record the pair.
Say "path" and "pat" and see which one you said
One take covers both words: reference mode aligns each sound against its target, so the contrast comes back scored on both sides. Free, private, in your browser.