I am a learner from China, and I'm always confused with sounds of /e/, /æ/, /aɪ/ and /ʌ/, no matter when I'm speaking or listening because all of them sound so much alike.
I find there are a few differences between British English and American English of these four sounds. The following sounds are what I found in https://dictionary.cambridge.org:
(click to listen)
but: [UK] , [US]
Especially the sounds of 'bat' and 'but' in British accent, which sound almost the same except for 'bat' is a little longer than 'but'. When people speak fast, there could be no difference if listeners don't have the context.
The most difficult sound for me is /æ/, I even don't know how to pronounce it. It sounds like a voice between /e/ and /ɑː/, but I'm really not able to say it correctly.
So, do you native speakers have any good suggestions for me? I would be very appreciated for your answers.