Letters you can’t hear
Many English words have a silent letter: you write it, but you don’t say it.
| Silent letter | Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| k | kn | knee, knife, knock, knight, know |
| w | wr | write, wrong, wrist, wrap; also answer, sword |
| g | gn | gnome, sign, design, foreign |
| b | mb, bt | lamb, thumb, climb, comb, crumb · doubt, debt |
| n | mn | autumn, column |
| t | st | listen, castle, whistle, fasten, Christmas |
| h | honest, hour, rhyme, school, ghost | |
| s | island, aisle | |
| c | sc | science, scissors, muscle |
| l | half, calm, talk, could, salmon | |
| u | gu | guess, guide, build, biscuit |
Watch out! Related words can help: you can hear the n in autumnal and the g in signal, so remember them in autumn and sign.
Top tip: say the word in a silly way, sounding every letter: “k-nee”, “lam-b”, “cas-tle”. It helps you remember what to write.
👆 Spot the right spelling
Tap every word that is spelt correctly.
🔎 Silent letter check1 of 5