5 exercises on tricky minimal pairs in developer vocabulary.
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Choose the correct word: "If you do not commit, you will ___ your changes."
Lose /luːz/ is the verb meaning "to be deprived of" — you will lose your changes. Loose /luːs/ is an adjective meaning "not tight". The key sound difference is the final consonant: "lose" ends in a voiced /z/ ("looz"), while "loose" ends in a voiceless /s/ ("loose"). Spelling traps people because "lose" has only one "o". Mnemonic: you lose an "o" from "loose" when you mean the verb. So "don't lose your work" (verb, /z/) versus "a loose coupling" (adjective, /s/).
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Choose the correct word and note its sound: "Microservices favour ___ coupling between components."
Here you need the adjectiveloose /luːs/, meaning "not tightly bound" — loose coupling. It ends in a voiceless /s/ sound ("loose", rhyming with "goose"). The verb "lose" /luːz/ (ending in voiced /z/) would be wrong. "Loose coupling" is a core architecture term meaning components depend minimally on each other. Remember: loose = two o's, /s/ sound, adjective; lose = one o, /z/ sound, verb. So "loosely coupled" /ˈluːsli/ also keeps the /s/.
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How is "cache" pronounced, given the minimal pair with "cash"?
Cache /kæʃ/ is pronounced exactly like the word "cash" (money) — one syllable, ending in the "sh" sound /ʃ/. It is NOT "cash-ay" (that is the French word cachet, meaning prestige) and NOT "catch" /kætʃ/. So "clear the cache" is "clear the cash", and "cache miss" is "cash miss". The verb "to cache" is also "to cash". This is a classic mispronunciation: many beginners say "cash-ay", but every native developer says "cash".
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Choose the correctly pronounced/used word: "The CI server acts as the ___ for the test suite."
Host /həʊst/ means "a machine or service that provides resources" — the server is the host. Hoist /hɔɪst/ is an unrelated verb meaning "to lift". The vowels differ: "host" uses the /əʊ/ diphthong ("oh", as in "go"), while "hoist" uses /ɔɪ/ ("oy", as in "boy"). So "localhost" is "local-HOHST", and "host the database" uses /əʊ/. Do not let the "oi" spelling of "hoist" bleed into "host". (Note: in JS compilers, variable "hoisting" /ˈhɔɪstɪŋ/ does use /ɔɪ/ — a different concept entirely.)
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Which pronunciation is correct for "patch" (as in a software patch)?
Patch /pætʃ/ ends in the affricate /tʃ/ ("ch", as in "church"), with the short open /æ/ vowel ("a" as in "cat"). It rhymes with "match" and "catch". Do not soften it to /pæʃ/ ("pash", ending in plain "sh") — that loses the "t" onset of the affricate. So "apply the patch" and "patch the bug" both end with a clear "ch" sound. Compare "cache" /kæʃ/ (ends in /ʃ/, "sh") versus "patch" /pætʃ/ (ends in /tʃ/, "ch") — same vowel, different final consonant.