In English, it is never enough to know the spelling of a word; the pronunciation must also be specified. While there are a few helpful rules of spelling, we learn pronunciation of new words only by trial and error. We guess a pronunciation based on experience, and then are laughed at when we make a serious error. And sometimes, we laugh at our friends when we think they're wrong. I still remember a friend from fourth grade who insisted on going to the "the-AY-ter". (It didn't help that his first name was "Sean", a name I had never heard before, and which I suspected he had invented; - and that's before he told me how to spell it!)
A minor result of this curiosity of English is that many words rhyme that "shouldn't", and many that "should" don't. Collected here are a few sets of words that look like they ought to rhyme, but which vary in interesting ways.
In order to be "fair", I have mainly looked at words that are spelled identically, except for a change in a consonantal group, usually at the beginning of the word. This means that I am less interested in cases where the words don't align, because one has more syllables. So, while I include the pair ache and attache, I regard this as a weaker example. I have allowed cases where the change is not in the first syllable, as long as it occurs in a stressed syllable that would normally trigger a rhyme, such as the pair cajoled and caroled, although this example also illustrates the perplexing ways in which the accent can vary in two words of such similar spelling.
Notice the large number of oddball words involving a "w" just before the vowel. This suggests that the letter "w" really does have a semi-vowel status, which could explain why, for instance, bash doesn't rhyme with wash: it "really" has a different vowel sound w(ua)sh.
| abalone | alone | ||||
| abate | agate | ||||
| abdomen | omen | women | |||
| above | approve | ||||
| ache | attache | cache | |||
| acred/nacred | sacred | ||||
| ad | wad | ||||
| addle | waddle | ||||
| adios | radios | ||||
| adjourn | mourn | ||||
| adobe | probe | ||||
| aft | waft | ||||
| again | attain | ||||
| ageism | atheism | ||||
| ago | sago | ||||
| ague | plague | Prague | |||
| aid | plaid | said | |||
| alas | galas | ||||
| album | alum | ||||
| alf | half | ||||
| alibis | ibis | ||||
| all | shall | ||||
| allege | protege | renege | |||
| allegro | negro | ||||
| alliance | dalliance | ||||
| alligator | senator | ||||
| allot | ballot | ||||
| allow | sallow | wallow | |||
| allower | wallflower | ||||
| ally | tally | Wally | |||
| almoner | salmoner | ||||
| along | among | ||||
| amazon | blazon | ||||
| amber | chamber | ||||
| amen | stamen | ||||
| Amish | famish | Hamish | |||
| amuses | anuses | ||||
| an | wan | ||||
| anal | canal | ||||
| anarchy | starchy | ||||
| and | wand | ||||
| anger | banger | danger | |||
| anise | arise | ||||
| anon | canon | ||||
| ant | want | ||||
| anted | canted | wanted | |||
| any | zany | ||||
| Apaches | attaches | ||||
| apparatus | asparagus | ||||
| apprentice | entice | ||||
| arbiter | biter | liter | |||
| arch | monarch | ||||
| are | bare | ||||
| argon | jargon | ||||
| aria | Maria | ||||
| Arkansas | Kansas | ||||
| arm | warm | ||||
| aroused | rendezvoused | ||||
| arrant | warrant | ||||
| as | bras | gas | was | ||
| ascent | nascent | ||||
| ash | wash | ||||
| asp | wasp | ||||
| assail | wassail | ||||
| assess | basses | masses | |||
| assist | bassist | ||||
| aster | waster | ||||
| astern | pastern | ||||
| at | swat | what | |||
| athlete | machete | ||||
| attest | fattest | ||||
| aunt | gaunt | ||||
| avalanche | Comanche | ||||
| avenge | scavenge | ||||
| aver | saver | ||||
| avid | David | ||||
| avine | ravine | ||||
| award | awkward | ||||
| ax | coax | ||||
| axes | taxes | ||||
| axis | taxis | ||||
| Babel | label | ||||
| backward | backyard | ||||
| baffle | waffle | ||||
| bagged | ragged | ||||
| balcony | balony | ||||
| ballet | mallet | wallet | |||
| baked | naked | ||||
| banged | ranged | ||||
| banish | Danish | ||||
| banquet | bouquet | suet | |||
| barn | warn | ||||
| barrel | quarrel | ||||
| barren | warren | ||||
| baseline | Vaseline | ||||
| baser | laser | ||||
| bases | gases | lases | |||
| batch | watch | ||||
| bath | swath | ||||
| bathed | pathed | ||||
| bather | father | gather | |||
| battle | wattle | ||||
| bays | says | ||||
| bead | dead | ||||
| beady | ready | ||||
| beak | break | ||||
| bear | hear | ||||
| beard | heard | ||||
| beast | breast | ||||
| beat | great | sweat | |||
| beating | creating | ||||
| became | sesame | ||||
| been | seen | ||||
| beer | freer | ||||
| began | Megan | vegan | |||
| beget | beret | ||||
| beta | feta | ||||
| biased | liased | ||||
| bier | crier | skier | |||
| binder | hinder | ||||
| binged | ringed | ||||
| bio | trio | ||||
| biped | griped | ||||
| bison | prison | ||||
| bisque | risque | ||||
| bistable | listable | ||||
| bitrate | titrate | ||||
| blood | food | good | |||
| blown | brown | ||||
| bluest | guest | ||||
| boat | Croat | ||||
| bodice | no dice | ||||
| body | Cody; grody | ||||
| Boer | doer | goer | |||
| boing | doing | going | |||
| Boise | noise | ||||
| bolder | solder | ||||
| bomb | comb | tomb | |||
| bomber | comber | somber | tomber | ||
| bone | gone | one | |||
| book | kook | ||||
| boot | foot | ||||
| bosses | posses | ||||
| both | cloth | doth | |||
| bother | mother | ||||
| bough | cough | hiccough | though | through | tough |
| bought | drought | ||||
| bower | lower | ||||
| bowl | howl | ||||
| bravado | tornado | ||||
| breather | leather | ||||
| brewed | rewed | sewed | |||
| British | whitish | ||||
| broad | road | ||||
| bruise | guise | Louise | |||
| bruit | fruit | quit | |||
| budding | pudding | ||||
| Buick | quick | ||||
| bull | dull | ||||
| bullet | gullet | ||||
| bullion | mullion | ||||
| bully | sully | ||||
| bunion | union | ||||
| burger | surger | ||||
| bury | jury | ||||
| bus | flus | ||||
| buses | fuses | ||||
| bush | gush | ||||
| buss | puss | ||||
| but | put | ||||
| butch | hutch | ||||
| butterfly | utterly | ||||
| cab | swab | ||||
| cabaret | caret | ||||
| cachet | sachet | ||||
| cacheted | macheted | ||||
| cafe | safe | ||||
| cajoled | caroled | ||||
| camp | swamp | ||||
| canapes | jackanapes | ||||
| canary | granary | ||||
| cantaloupe | troupe | ||||
| canton | wanton | ||||
| cap | swap | ||||
| car | war | ||||
| caraway | faraway | ||||
| card | ward | ||||
| carp | warp | ||||
| carry | quarry | starry | |||
| cart | wart | ||||
| cashier | trashier | ||||
| caste | paste | ||||
| caught | draught | ||||
| cease | ease | ||||
| cede | suede | ||||
| ceder | seder | ||||
| ceil | veil | ||||
| ceiling | veiling | ||||
| cement | clement | ||||
| censure | ensure | ||||
| certain | pertain | ||||
| chaise | raise | ||||
| changes | Ganges | ||||
| chapel | lapel | ||||
| chasses | classes | ||||
| cheated | created | ||||
| cheese | geese | ||||
| chemise | demise | Denise | premise | ||
| chemo | memo | ||||
| chic | mic | tic | |||
| China | Tina | ||||
| chino | rhino | ||||
| chis | is | skis | this | ||
| chivalry | rivalry | ||||
| Chloe | doe | shoe | |||
| choir | noir | ||||
| choose | loose | ||||
| chose | dose | Jose | lose | ||
| Christ | twist | ||||
| citric | nitric | ||||
| clarification | scarification | ||||
| clarify | scarify | ||||
| clean | ocean | Sean | |||
| cliche | fiche | niche | |||
| cliches | riches | ||||
| climate | intimate | primate | |||
| climb | limb | ||||
| climbed | imbed | limbed | |||
| climber | timber | ||||
| closer | hoser | loser | |||
| clothing | frothing | nothing | |||
| cockeyed | jockeyed | ||||
| coed | shoed | toed | |||
| colic | folic | ||||
| colon | solon | ||||
| color | dolor | ||||
| comas | Thomas | ||||
| come | home | ||||
| comely | homely | ||||
| comic | gnomic | ||||
| communique | unique | ||||
| commonly | only | ||||
| compared | infrared | ||||
| compromise | promise | ||||
| concave | Mojave | ||||
| coney | honey | ||||
| confider | consider | ||||
| conspiracy | piracy | ||||
| copier | dopier | ||||
| copy | ropy | ||||
| cork | work | ||||
| corneal | cornmeal | ||||
| couch | touch | ||||
| couched | douched | touched | |||
| coup | soup | ||||
| courier | Fourier | ||||
| cove | love | move | |||
| coven | proven | woven | |||
| cover | mover | over | |||
| coverage | overage | ||||
| coverall | overall | ||||
| cow | low | ||||
| cowboy | lowboy | ||||
| coward | toward | ||||
| credo | redo | ||||
| crescent | descent | ||||
| crevice | device | Venice | |||
| crinoline | trampoline | ||||
| crises | rises | ||||
| crooked | looked | ||||
| cross | gross | ||||
| croupier | soupier | ||||
| customer | misnomer | ||||
| dais | Thais | ||||
| daises | raises | ||||
| daughter | laughter | ||||
| deaf | leaf | ||||
| death | heath | ||||
| debacle | manacle | ||||
| debut | rebut | ||||
| debuted | refuted | ||||
| decade | degrade | ||||
| decal | fecal | ||||
| decedent | precedent | ||||
| deceit | forfeit | ||||
| dedicate | delicate | ||||
| deface | preface | ||||
| defanged | deranged | ||||
| defeated | permeated | ||||
| defiance | deviance | ||||
| defiant | deviant | ||||
| defined | destined | ||||
| degas | Degas | Vegas | |||
| deist | heist | ||||
| deliver | deriver | ||||
| demon | lemon | ||||
| demur | femur | ||||
| denial | menial | ||||
| Denis | penis | ||||
| deposition | reposition | ||||
| depot | despot | repot | |||
| despite | mesquite | respite | |||
| deter | meter | ||||
| detour | devour | ||||
| devil | evil | ||||
| deviled | reviled | ||||
| Diane | Liane | ||||
| dilate | Pilate | ||||
| discount | viscount | ||||
| distress | mistress | ||||
| dither | lither | ||||
| diva | saliva | ||||
| divan | Ivan | ||||
| dive | live | ||||
| diver | river | ||||
| divest | jivest | ||||
| do | go | ||||
| doctorates | Euphrates | Socrates | |||
| does | goes | shoes | |||
| dogsled | ogled | ||||
| doll | roll | ||||
| domino | palomino | ||||
| donkey | monkey | ||||
| donor | honor | ||||
| dosage | Osage | ||||
| dose | lose | rose | |||
| dossier | glossier | ||||
| double | rouble | ||||
| doubled | doubted | ||||
| douche | touche | ||||
| douches | touches | ||||
| dowager | lager | pager | |||
| dozen | frozen | ||||
| drawer | rawer | ||||
| driest | priest | ||||
| duality | quality | ||||
| duet | suet | ||||
| duly | July | ||||
| dumber | lumber | ||||
| early | nearly | ||||
| earth | hearth | ||||
| easy | greasy | ||||
| egoist | moist | ||||
| egret | regret | ||||
| eight | height | ||||
| either | wither | ||||
| emigrate | emirate | ||||
| emit | esprit | exit | |||
| enable | tenable | ||||
| enate | senate | ||||
| enclave | enslave | ||||
| encourage | entourage | ||||
| enchant | penchant | ||||
| endometrial | retrial | ||||
| engine | entwine | ||||
| ermine | undermine | ||||
| estate | gestate | restate | |||
| ether | tether | ||||
| eunuch | such | ||||
| even | seven | ||||
| ever | fever | ||||
| Everest | severest | ||||
| ewer | sewer | ||||
| excited | exited | ||||
| exist | sexist | ||||
| eyed | keyed | preyed | |||
| agile | awhile | facile | gracile | ||
| faith | saith | ||||
| farish | garish | ||||
| fasted | tasted | ||||
| fasten | hasten | ||||
| fasting | tasting | ||||
| fetal | metal | ||||
| fetched | wretched | ||||
| fete | machete | mete | |||
| feud | Freud | ||||
| few | sew | ||||
| fevered | revered | severed | |||
| fiend | friend | ||||
| fillet | skillet | ||||
| fine lure | sinecure | ||||
| finger | ginger | singer | |||
| finis | minis | ||||
| finish | swinish | ||||
| flange | range | ||||
| fleas | ideas | ||||
| flourish | fourish | sourish | |||
| flower | lower | ||||
| font | front | ||||
| forbid | morbid | ||||
| form | worm | ||||
| forte | torte | ||||
| foster | poster | ||||
| foul | ghoul | soul | |||
| four | hour | ||||
| fried | skied | ||||
| frigate | ligate | ||||
| from | tom | whom | |||
| frontage | montage | ||||
| fussy | pussy | ||||
| futon | puton | ||||
| galleyed | walleyed | ||||
| gallop | wallop | ||||
| gamelan | gameplan | ||||
| gamester | semester | ||||
| garage | garbage | ||||
| garble | warble | ||||
| garden | warden | ||||
| genus | menus | ||||
| gild | mild | ||||
| glacier | racier | ||||
| gladiator | radiator | ||||
| golf | wolf | ||||
| gorilla | tortilla | ||||
| gouge | rouge | ||||
| grieve | sieve | ||||
| griot | idiot | riot | |||
| groin | heroin | ||||
| growly | lowly | ||||
| gulley | pulley | ||||
| Hades | shades | ||||
| halon | salon | talon | |||
| halt | shalt | ||||
| hasty | nasty | ||||
| have | pave | ||||
| headdress | readdress | ||||
| heir | weir | ||||
| here | there | were | |||
| heresy | hereby | ||||
| heretic | hermetic | ||||
| heron | Peron | ||||
| herring | referring | ||||
| hewn | sewn | ||||
| hinged | ringed | ||||
| hinter | inter | ||||
| holler | roller | ||||
| holly | wholly | ||||
| hombre | sombre | ||||
| homey | honey | ||||
| honk | monk | ||||
| horse | worse | ||||
| hostage | postage | ||||
| how | low | ||||
| humbly | numbly | ||||
| hunger | dunger | plunger | |||
| icicles | Pericles | ||||
| icily | Sicily | ||||
| icon | iron | ||||
| idolater | isolater | ||||
| imbed | limbed | ||||
| imply | simply | ||||
| indict | infict | ||||
| injured | inured | ||||
| innate | pinnate | ||||
| integer | reneger | ||||
| intel | lintel | ||||
| intercedes | Mercedes | ||||
| internal | interval | ||||
| internet | interpret | ||||
| into | pinto | ||||
| intuit | Inuit | ||||
| irate | pirate | ||||
| island | misland | ||||
| isled | misled | ||||
| intel | lintel | ||||
| ivy | privy | ||||
| Jesus | rhesus | ||||
| Judy | study | ||||
| kerfed | underfed | ||||
| key | they | ||||
| kilo | silo | ||||
| kind | wind | ||||
| kindly | spindly | ||||
| knavish | lavish | ||||
| kosher | posher | ||||
| latte | matte | ||||
| latent | patent | ||||
| later | water | ||||
| legate | negate | ||||
| leopard | leotard | ||||
| leprosy | nosy | ||||
| lily | wily | ||||
| limo | primo | ||||
| lint | pint | ||||
| liven | given | ||||
| logic | yogic | ||||
| longed | sponged | ||||
| longer | sponger | ||||
| lorry | sorry | worry | |||
| lost | post | ||||
| lounger | younger | ||||
| lousy | mousy | ||||
| lynch | synch | ||||
| macrame | madame | ||||
| magnate | stagnate | ||||
| malinger | Salinger | ||||
| mambo | Rambo | ||||
| mangy | tangy | ||||
| mania | Shania | Tania | |||
| margarine | nectarine | ||||
| massage | passage | ||||
| masse | passe | ||||
| matrimony | patrimony | ||||
| mature | nature | stature | |||
| medial | redial | ||||
| menses | lenses | ||||
| minced | zinced | ||||
| minestrone | pinecone | ||||
| minidress | ministress | ||||
| message | dressage | ||||
| model | yodel | ||||
| modest | molest | ||||
| moldier | soldier | ||||
| mouse | rouse | ||||
| mousers | trousers | ||||
| naif | waif | ||||
| naive | waive | ||||
| nation | ration | ||||
| navel | ravel | ||||
| Nazi | Swazi | ||||
| nearby | nearly | ||||
| Nepal | sepal | ||||
| neuters | Reuters | ||||
| Neville | Seville | ||||
| Niger | tiger | ||||
| niton | piton | ||||
| nitro | vitro | ||||
| north | worth | ||||
| notice | novice | ||||
| novel | shovel | ||||
| number | plumber | ||||
| ogress | progress | ||||
| Oman | Roman | woman | |||
| omit | vomit | ||||
| once | sconce | ||||
| onion | Orion | ||||
| onto | pronto | ||||
| opaque | plaque | ||||
| oust | Proust | ||||
| outage | outrage | ||||
| oval | removal | ||||
| pajama | Panama | ||||
| panda | Wanda | ||||
| pander | wander | ||||
| pant | want | ||||
| Paris | saris | ||||
| patio | ratio | ||||
| peas | pancreas | ||||
| petty | pretty | ||||
| phenom | venom | ||||
| piers | pliers | skiers | |||
| player | prayer | ||||
| Pliny | tiny | ||||
| pollen | swollen | ||||
| ponder | wonder | ||||
| potato | vibrato | ||||
| precious | specious | ||||
| preclude | prelude | ||||
| predate | sedate | ||||
| prelate | relate | ||||
| premed | themed | ||||
| presence | pretence | ||||
| prestige | vestige | ||||
| process | profess | ||||
| pronged | sponged | ||||
| proper | roper | ||||
| punish | runish | ||||
| purine | urine | ursine | |||
| pusher | usher | ||||
| quadruped | quadrupled | ||||
| qualifies | qualities | ||||
| quant | truant | ||||
| quart | Stuart | ||||
| quintuple | scruple | ||||
| quite | suite | ||||
| reaward | seaward | ||||
| rebus | zebus | ||||
| recant | secant | ||||
| recent | relent | ||||
| recipe | rewipe | ||||
| record | reword | ||||
| redness | redress | ||||
| regale | resale | ||||
| regard | reward | steward | |||
| regime | retime | ||||
| register | resister | ||||
| reglue | segue | ||||
| relish | rewish/delish | ||||
| remind | rescind | ||||
| rho | who | ||||
| ringed | tinged | ||||
| rye | ye | ||||
| salve | valve | ||||
| sauerkraut | taut | ||||
| scarf | wharf | ||||
| scholar | solar | ||||
| sea | yea | ||||
| semen | Yemen | ||||
| Semite | Yosemite | ||||
| sickled | sickbed | ||||
| Simon | Timon | ||||
| simony | testimony | ||||
| snuggest | suggest | ||||
| solves | wolves | ||||
| soprano | volcano | ||||
| south | youth | ||||
| squalid | valid | ||||
| stein | vein | ||||
| stingy | stringy | ||||
| sunless | unless | ||||
| sword | word | ||||
| taco | Waco | ||||
| tagine | tagline | ||||
| tenon | xenon | ||||
| thou | you | ||||
| Tigris | verdigris | ||||
| tricked | wicked | ||||
| tunable | unable | ||||
| unable | usable | ||||
| unary | unwary | ||||
| unfit | unit | ||||
| vehicle | vesicle | ||||
| workable | worktable |