sun · son
Homophones — different spelling, different meaning, identical sound /sʌn/.
🔊 These two words sound EXACTLY the same
/sʌn/
Different spelling. Different meaning. Identical pronunciation.
the star we orbit — sunshine, sunlight, sunburn
mouth shape
jaw drops slightly — short /ʌ/ like 'cup', 'run', 'fun', 'come' — central, open vowel
sun
/sʌn/
vowel length
a male child — 'this is my son' — sounds exactly like 'sun'
mouth shape
identical to sun — /sʌn/ — same short /ʌ/ vowel, completely different meaning
son
/sʌn/
vowel length
Spelling spotlight
sun
spelled with U
run · fun · bun · gun
son
O that sounds like /ʌ/
come · done · some · none
The letter O sometimes makes the /ʌ/ sound in English — son, come, some, done, none, one, love, above all use O for /ʌ/.
Key difference
No pronunciation difference — both are /sʌn/: short central vowel /ʌ/, like cup and run. A useful pattern to know: many common English words spell /ʌ/ with the letter O — son, come, some, done, love, above, month. Context always tells you which is meant.
Example sentences
sun:“The sun is shining today.”
sun:“Don’t look directly at the sun.”
son:“This is my son, he is 5 years old.”
son:“My son loves football.”
Hear it in a sentence
“The sun set behind the mountains, turning the sky orange and pink.”
“His son took his first steps on a quiet Tuesday morning in November.”
Hear it in the wild
Real speech from native speakers — the most reliable way to check a pronunciation, since automated audio can vary by device and browser.
sun
Hear native speakers say “sun” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
Opens YouTube-sourced clips in a new tab.
son
Hear native speakers say “son” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
Opens YouTube-sourced clips in a new tab.
How teachers explain this
Approved tips from the community, sorted by helpfulness
Word families
sun family ▸
son family ▸
Related pairs
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