Silent letters from A to Z list and examples for each letter

Silent letters from A to Z list and examples for each letter

What is this English lesson about on silent letters?

This lesson shows a small list of the silent letters from A to Z and is designed to use as a guide to help you pronounce words.

What is the definition of a silent letter?

A silent letter is left unpronounced, such as the d in handkerchief, the n in autumn and the p in cupboard. When talking fast, silent words like t are very lightly pronounced in words like Christmas, mountain and little.

Are there a lot of silent words in the English language?

Sadly yes. It is rumoured that as much as 60% of words in the English language have a silent letter in them. This makes spelling a lot more difficult for learners and even some native speakers.

Silent letters from A to Z

A - artistically, logically, musically, romantically, stoically

B - comb, climb, debt, plumber, tomb, subtle, dumb, bomb, doubt, , numb, subpoena, thumb, womb.

C - acquire, acquit, blackguard, connecticut, czar, muscle, scissors, victual

CH - yacht

D - handkerchief, Wednesday Wednesday (commonly said Wens-day)

E - plaque. veqetable (veg'tab'I), bridge, clothes. When on the end of a word, it changes the pronunciation of the word, but the -e is silent.

F - halfpenny

G - align, alight, champagne, diaphragm, gnash, gnaw, high, light,reign, though

GH - right, drought, eight, weigh, etc.

H - choir,exchast, hour, honour, honest, herb, rhyme, rhythm, thyme, Thailand i-business,  parliament

J - business.

J - NONE

K - blackguard.

KN -words, the k is silent: know, knot, knee, knife, knight, knock.

L - calm, folk, salmon, talk, walk, could, should, would, folk, half, calf.

M - mnemonic.

N - autumn, chimney, column, damn, damn, government, solemn.

O- colonel, sophomore, opossum

P - corps, coup, cupboard, pneumonia, psalm, raspberry, receipt, coup

Q - (NONE)

R - butter, finger, surprise

S - aisle, island, debris, isle, patios, viscount.

T - beret, Chevrolet, depot, listen, whistle, wrestle, trestle, mortgage, apostle

(When talking fast, the t is very lightly pronounced in words like Christmas, mountain and little)

TH - asthma, isthmus, north, easter

W - who, whole, write, wrong,  two, sword, wrist, answer

X - faux

Y - (NONE)

Z - rendezvous

9 - sign, gnat, gnu, foreign

Silent letters can be heard depending on a persons accent⁠⁠⁠⁠

Rule 1: B is not pronounced after M at the end of a word.

Examples: limb, crumb, dumb, comb, bomb, thumb, climb, tomb

Rule 2: B is usually not pronounced before T at the end of a root word.**

Examples: debt, doubt, debtor, doubtful, subtle, subtleness

**A root word is the original word in its root form without any prefixes or suffixes attached e.g. doubt is the root word in doubtful, and the ‘ful’ is a suffix. Subtle is the root word, and ‘ness’ is a suffix. For more information on prefixes and suffixes, please click here.

silent letter C

Silent C

Rule 1: C is not pronounced in the combination SC.

Examples: Muscle, scissors, ascent, miscellaneous, fascinate, scenario

Exceptions: Sclera, asclepiad, sclerosis, muscovado, sceptic

Rule 2: C is usually redundant before the letters K or Q.

Examples: Acquaintance, acknowledge, acquiesce, acquit

silent letter D

Silent D

Rule 1: D is not pronounced in the following common words:

Handkerchief, Wednesday, sandwich, handsome

Rule 2: D is also not pronounced in the combination DG.

Examples: Pledge, dodge, grudge, hedge

silent letter E

Silent E

Rule: E is not pronounced at the end of words, but instead elongates the sound of the vowel before it.

Examples: Hope, drive, gave, write, site, grave, bite, hide

Exceptions: Giraffe, brunette, cassette, gazelle (You may be able to spot a pattern in these words; they have similar combinations in the last syllable. This shows that the exceptions are generally words with unusual stress on the final syllable – but not always! One example would be the word ‘minute’ as in the time-measuring unit.)

silent letter G

Silent G

Rule: G is not often not pronounced when it comes before N.

Examples: Champagne, foreign, sign, feign, foreign, design, align, cognac

Exceptions: Magnet, igneous, cognitive, signature

silent letter gh

Silent GH

Rule 1: GH is not pronounced when it comes after a vowel.

Examples: Thought, drought, through, thorough, borough, daughter, light, might, sigh, right, fight, weigh, weight

Exceptions: Doghouse, foghorn, bighead (As you can see, the exceptions are generally compound words i.e. words that have been formed by combining two complete words)

Rule 2: GH is sometimes pronounced like F.

Examples: rough, tough, laugh, enough, cough, clough, draught

Exceptions: Examples from rule 1!

silent letter H

Silent H

Rule 1: H is not pronounced when it comes after W (n.b. some speakers whisper the H before the W).

Examples: what, when, where, whether, why

Rule 2: H is not pronounced at the beginning of many words (remember to use the article “an” with unvoiced H).

Examples: hour, honest, honour, heir

Exceptions: hill, history, height, happy, hereditary (Plus most other words beginning with H that are NOT of French origin – and remember to use the article “a” with voiced H)

Rule 3: H is often not pronounced when it comes after C, G or R.

Examples: choir, chorus, ghastly, ghoul, aghast, echo, rhinocerous, rhythm

silent letter K

Silent K

Rule: K is not pronounced when it comes before N at the beginning of a word.

Examples: knife, knee, know, knock, knowledge, knead

silent letter L

Silent L

Rule: L is not pronounced after the vowels A, O and U.

Examples: calm, half, talk, walk, would, should, could, calf, salmon, yolk, chalk, folk, balm

Exceptions: Halo, bulk, sulk, hold, sold, fold, mould

silent letter N

Silent N

Rule: N is not pronounced when it comes after M at the end of a word.

Examples: Autumn, hymn, column, solemn

silent letter P

Silent P

Rule: P is not pronounced at the beginning of many words using the combinations PS, PT and PN.

Psychiatrist, pneumonia, pneumatic, psychotherapy, psychotic, psychologist, pseudonym, Pterodactyl

silent letter ph

Silent PH

Rule: PH is sometimes pronounced like F.

Examples: telephone, paragraph, alphabet, epiphany, sophomore

silent letter S

Silent S

Rule: S is not pronounced before L in the following words:

Island, isle, aisle, islet

silent letter T

Silent T

Rule: T is not pronounced in these common words:

Cas⁠⁠⁠⁠