Rhyme facts for kids

Rhyme is when words sound the same or very similar at their ends. You often hear rhymes in poems and song lyrics. Sometimes, a simple poem is even called a rhyme.

Many examples of rhyme can be found in folk songs, children's songs, and especially in nursery rhymes. Rhymes usually appear at the end of lines in a song or poem.

For example:

Roses are red, violets are blue,

Sugar is sweet, and so are you.

And another:

Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow,

And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.

What are Different Types of Rhymes?

End Rhymes

End rhymes are the most common type. They happen when words at the end of lines rhyme, like blue and you in the example above.

Internal Rhymes

Sometimes, rhymes happen within a single line, not just at the end. This is called an internal rhyme.

For example, in the counting song:

One, two, buckle my shoe,

Three, four, shut the door,

Five, six, pick up sticks,

Seven, eight, lay them straight...

Here, two and shoe rhyme inside the first line.

Another example is from a children's poem:

With a knick-knack, paddy-whack, give the dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home...

In this line, knack and whack are internal rhymes.

Exact Rhymes

Exact rhymes sound exactly the same except for their first sound. They are the most common type of rhyme.

You can easily make exact rhymes with common English sounds:

• pay / day / way / say / may / bay / play / pray / stay
• me / we / be / see / tree / knee

Near Rhymes (or Slant Rhymes)

Some rhymes are not exact. They only sound similar. These are sometimes called near rhymes or slant rhymes.

For example:

Goosey goosey gander, whither will you wander,

Upstairs, downstairs, in my lady's chamber...

Here, gander and wander are not exact rhymes. They sound similar but not perfectly alike.

Sight Rhymes

Sight rhymes are words that look like they should rhyme when you read them, but they don't sound alike when you say them out loud.

In the example above, gander and wander are also sight rhymes. They look similar on paper. Sight rhymes are more common in poems meant to be read silently. They are less common in songs or poems meant to be sung or spoken aloud.

Can Rhymes Be More Than One Word?

Yes, rhymes can be made up of more than one word. This means a phrase can rhyme with another phrase.

For example, in the short poem Rondeau by James Henry Leigh Hunt:

Jenny kissed me when we met,

Jumping from the chair she sat in;

Time, you thief, who love to get

Sweets into your book, put that in:

Say I'm weary, say I'm sad,

Say that health and wealth have missed me,

Say I'm growing old, but add,

Jenny kissed me.

Hunt uses clever two-word rhymes like sat in and that in, and missed me and kissed me. He also uses simple rhymes like met and get, and sad and add. There's even an internal rhyme with health and wealth.

Who Uses Unusual Rhymes?

Some poets and writers like to use very unusual rhymes.

• The song lyrics from the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz are a great example. The writer, E. Y. "Yip" Harburg, used many odd rhymes, internal rhymes, and complex rhyme patterns.
• W. S. Gilbert, who wrote the words for the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas, also wrote in this clever way.
• The books by Dr. Seuss are also famous for their many strange and fun rhymes.

What if Writers Don't Use Rhyme?

Poets who choose not to use rhyme write in different styles. These styles include blank verse or free verse. In these types of poetry, the words don't have to rhyme at the end of lines.

See also

In Spanish: Rima para niños