Minimal pair

In phonetics and phonology, a minimal pair is a set of words that differ in only one regard, frequently in a single particular phoneme. However, minimal pairs can also differ in tone, accent, or other features. Additionally, the term minimal pair has been extended to syntax to describe sentences or clauses that differ in a single word or branching structure.

It is important to note that, despite the denotational meaning of pair, minimal pairs can consist of more than two members.