Phonics and reading
Phonics words explained: a glossary for parents
Phonics has its own vocabulary, but every term describes something simple. A phoneme is a single sound, a grapheme is the letter or letters that write it, blending is joining sounds to read a word and segmenting is splitting a word into sounds to spell it. This glossary explains the words you'll hear from teachers and see on school letters, each with a short definition and an example.
- By CurioKids teamHow we write our guides
- Published
- Updated
- 8 min read
Key takeaways
- A phoneme is one sound in a spoken word; a grapheme is the letter or letters that write that sound.
- Blending sounds together is how children read a word; segmenting a word into its sounds is how they spell it.
- CVC words such as cat and dog are the first words most children read, followed by CCVC and CVCC words such as stop and hand.
- Digraphs (sh), trigraphs (igh) and split digraphs (a_e in cake) are letter groups that write a single sound.
- Tricky words can't be fully sounded out yet; high-frequency words are simply the words that appear most often.
On this page
What are phonemes and graphemes?
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a spoken word, and a grapheme is the letter or group of letters that writes it. The word ship has three phonemes, /sh/ /i/ /p/, and three graphemes: sh, i and p. Knowing which graphemes go with which phonemes is the code that phonics teaches.
| Term | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Phoneme | One sound in a spoken word. Written between slashes, such as /m/. | cat has three phonemes: /c/ /a/ /t/ |
| Grapheme | The letter or letters that write one phoneme. | sh in ship, igh in night |
| GPC | Short for grapheme–phoneme correspondence: the match between a sound and the way it's written. | /ee/ can be written ee (tree) or ea (sea) |
| Letter sound | The sound a letter usually makes, as opposed to its name. | /s/, not “ess” |
| Phonological awareness | Hearing and playing with the sounds in spoken words, before letters come in. | Spotting that sun and sock start the same |
A word often has fewer phonemes than letters. Duck has four letters but three sounds, because ck writes one sound. That's why teachers count sounds, not letters, when they talk about words.
What are blending and segmenting?
Blending means saying the sounds in a word in order and joining them to hear the word: /c/ /a/ /t/, cat. Segmenting is the reverse: hearing a spoken word and splitting it into its sounds so you can write it. Blending is the core skill for reading, and segmenting is the core skill for spelling.
| Term | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Blending | Joining sounds together to read a word. | /s/ /u/ /n/ → sun |
| Segmenting | Splitting a spoken word into its sounds to spell it. | frog → /f/ /r/ /o/ /g/ |
| Sounding out | The everyday name for saying each sound and then blending. | “s-a-t, sat” |
| Oral blending | Blending sounds that are said aloud, with no letters to look at. | “Touch your /l/ /e/ /g/!” |
| Sound buttons | Dots or lines under a word, one for each grapheme, to help children see the sounds. | A dot under c, a and t; a line under sh |
For a closer look at both skills and how to practise them, see our guide to blending and segmenting.
What are CVC, CCVC and CVCC words?
These letters describe the pattern of sounds in a short word, where C stands for a consonant sound and V for a vowel sound. A CVC word has a consonant, a vowel and a consonant, such as pin. CCVC and CVCC words add a second consonant at the start or the end. They are usually the first words children learn to read, in roughly this order.
| Term | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| CVC word | Consonant, vowel, consonant: three sounds. | cat, dog, sun, bed |
| CCVC word | Two consonant sounds, then a vowel and a consonant. | stop, frog, clap |
| CVCC word | Consonant, vowel, then two consonant sounds. | hand, jump, milk |
| Blend (consonant cluster) | Two or three consonants side by side where you still hear each sound. | st in stop, nd in hand |
| Word family | Words that share the same ending, read by changing the first sound. | hat, mat, sat |
Because the letters in a CVC pattern count sounds, ship is still a CVC word: /sh/ /i/ /p/. Our guide to CVC words has example lists and ideas for practising them.
What are digraphs, trigraphs and split digraphs?
They are groups of letters that write one sound. A digraph is two letters making one sound, a trigraph is three letters making one sound, and a split digraph is two vowel letters with a consonant between them, working together to make one sound. English needs them because it has more sounds than letters.
| Term | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Digraph | Two letters, one sound. | sh, ch, th, ng, ck, ee |
| Trigraph | Three letters, one sound. | igh in light, air in chair, ear in hear |
| Vowel team | Two or more letters that write a vowel sound together. | ai in rain, oa in boat, oo in moon |
| Split digraph | Two vowel letters split by a consonant, making one sound. Often written a_e, i_e, o_e, u_e. | cake, bike, home, cube |
| Magic e | A child-friendly name for the split digraph: the e changes the vowel sound. | kit becomes kite |
What are tricky words and high-frequency words?
Tricky words are words with a part that can't be sounded out using the phonics a child knows so far, such as the, said and was. High-frequency words are simply the words that turn up most often in books. The two lists overlap a lot, but they are not the same thing: and and it are high-frequency but perfectly decodable.
| Term | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Tricky word | A common word with an unusual spelling, or one the child hasn't learned the code for yet. | said, was, you, come |
| High-frequency word | One of the words that appear most often in children's books. | the, and, is, it, in |
| Sight word | A word a child reads instantly, without sounding it out. Some schools use it for tricky words. | I, my, are |
| Decodable | Can be read by sounding out with the phonics a child already knows. | sat, pin, hop |
| Decodable book | A reading book written mostly with words a child can sound out. | A story about a cat that sat on a mat |
If your child's school sends home sight-word lists, our guide to sight words and phonics explains how they fit together.
What are synthetic and systematic phonics?
Synthetic phonics teaches children to read by learning letter sounds and blending them, or synthesising them, into words from the start. Systematic phonics means the sounds are taught in a planned order, building step by step, rather than as they happen to come up. Many schools use a programme that is both.
| Term | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Synthetic phonics | Learning sounds and blending them into whole words. | Reading pig as /p/ /i/ /g/ |
| Analytic phonics | Looking at whole words and working out the sound patterns they share. | Noticing that ball, bat and bed start the same |
| Systematic phonics | Teaching the sounds and patterns in a planned sequence. | s, a, t, p first, then more letters, then digraphs |
| Fluency | Reading smoothly and at a natural pace, with expression. | Reading a sentence without stopping on every word |
How does CurioKids teach these phonics skills?
CurioKids children start with Phonics Starter, 52 live, 1-to-1 lessons of 25 minutes each that work through most of the terms above: letter sounds, word families, digraphs, vowel teams, blends, magic e, tricky words and reading sentences. See what each unit covers on the Phonics Starter page, or book a free first lesson from our Singapore or Malaysia page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a phoneme and a grapheme?
A phoneme is a sound you hear in a spoken word, and a grapheme is the letter or letters that write it. In the word ship there are three phonemes and three graphemes: sh, i and p.
How many sounds are there in English?
English has around 44 sounds, depending on accent, but only 26 letters. That is why some sounds are written with two or three letters, such as sh, ee and igh.
Is a digraph the same as a blend?
No. In a digraph, two letters make one new sound, as sh does in ship. In a blend, you still hear each letter's own sound, as with s and t in stop.
Are sight words and tricky words the same?
They overlap but are not identical. Tricky words have a part that can't be sounded out yet. Sight words is a broader term some schools use for any word children should read instantly, including easy ones like and.