Hi, everyone!
Did you know that there are special words called “homophones”? It has nothing to do with phones, if that’s what you thought. Homophones (омонимы) are words which have absolutely the same pronunciation but different meanings. For example, if you write that you’re so board, people will misunderstand you, because you’re not a board made of wood from a tree, you’re bored, you’re not interested.
Can you find another example in the picture? I’ll give you a hint – it also has something to do with trees…
There are also words which have almost the same pronunciation, but still sound a bit different. For example, if you say “I want buy this” – it’s incorrect, because you meant “I won’t buy this”. One sound can make a great difference.
So as not to make fools of ourselves and do everything right, let’s find out a little more about…
B*tch and Beach
This is what can happen if you confuse them:
So let’s clear one thing up first: they are not homophones. The pronunciation is different.
- Bitch: /bɪtʃ/
- Beach: /biːtʃ/
Don’t confuse them!
This is the beach.
A bitch is a female dog.
But, like in Russian, this word has a bad meaning. A b*tch is a selfish, unpleasant, mean woman.
Helena Bonham Carter plays b*tches in different movies.
This idiom means «Та ладно тебе!»
Real life story:
Teacher: What do you like doing during your holidays?
Student: I like lying on the bitch…
This nice lady explains the difference a little more – watch this video and find out how to pronounce these words correctly:
Some other words with sounds like in beach and bitch:
- Like beach: eat, feet, reach, enormous
- Like bitch: sit, hit, mitt, impossible
Compare the difference:
- Reach – rich
- Eat – it
Answer these questions:
- When were you last at the beach? Where?
- If you wanted to get a dog, would you get a bitch or a male dog?
- Which movies do you know where the main actress plays a b*tch?
Thanks for reading
Don’t confuse beach and b*tch!