Silent Letters

English spelling often includes letters that we don’t pronounce. These “silent letters” can be confusing, but there are some patterns!

Silent K

The letter K is silent before N at the beginning of a word.

Examples:

• know /nəʊ/
• knight /naɪt/
• knife /naɪf/
• knee /niː/
• knock /nɒk/
• knot /nɒt/

Silent W

The letter W is silent before R at the beginning of a word.

Examples:

• write /raɪt/
• wrong /rɒŋ/
• wrap /ræp/
• wrist /rɪst/
• wrinkle /ˈrɪŋkl/

Also silent in some other words:

• answer /ˈɑːnsə/
• sword /sɔːd/
• two /tuː/
• who /huː/
• whole /həʊl/

Silent B

The letter B is often silent after M at the end of a word.

Examples:

• climb /klaɪm/
• comb /kəʊm/
• lamb /læm/
• thumb /θʌm/
• bomb /bɒm/
• tomb /tuːm/

Also silent before T:

• doubt /daʊt/
• debt /det/
• subtle /ˈsʌtl/

Silent G

The letter G is silent before N in many words.

Examples:

• sign /saɪn/
• design /dɪˈzaɪn/
• foreign /ˈfɒrən/
• gnat /næt/
• gnome /nəʊm/
• reign /reɪn/
• campaign /kæmˈpeɪn/

Silent H

The letter H is silent in many common words.

Examples:

• honest /ˈɒnɪst/
• hour /aʊə/
• honor /ˈɒnə/
• heir /eə/
• exhibit /ɪɡˈzɪbɪt/
• vehicle /ˈviːɪkl/
• ghost /ɡəʊst/

Also silent after W, R, and G:

• what /wɒt/ (British) or /wʌt/ (American)
• rhyme /raɪm/
• rhythm /ˈrɪðəm/
• ghetto /ˈɡetəʊ/

Silent L

The letter L is silent in some common words.

Examples:

• calm /kɑːm/
• palm /pɑːm/
• salmon /ˈsæmən/
• half /hɑːf/
• walk /wɔːk/
• talk /tɔːk/
• could /kʊd/
• would /wʊd/
• should /ʃʊd/

Silent P

The letter P is silent before S, N, or T in words from Greek.

Examples:

• psychology /saɪˈkɒlədʒi/
• pseudo /ˈsjuːdəʊ/
• psychic /ˈsaɪkɪk/
• pneumonia /njuːˈməʊniə/
• receipt /rɪˈsiːt/
• pterodactyl /ˌterəˈdæktɪl/

Silent T

The letter T is silent in some common words.

Examples:

• listen /ˈlɪsən/
• fasten /ˈfɑːsən/
• often /ˈɒfən/ (though some say /ˈɒftən/)
• castle /ˈkɑːsl/
• Christmas /ˈkrɪsməs/
• wrestle /ˈresl/

Silent GH

The combination GH is often silent.

Examples:

• light /laɪt/
• night /naɪt/
• right /raɪt/
• high /haɪ/
• weigh /weɪ/
• through /θruː/
• daughter /ˈdɔːtə/

Quiz