Silent letter facts for kids

Silent letters are letters in words that you write down, but you don't actually say them out loud when you speak the word. It's like they're hiding! For example, in English, the letter 'k' in know and knee is silent. You don't say "k-now" or "k-nee." Another example is the second 'b' in bomb or numb. You just say "bom" and "num." The 's' in island is also silent, and the 'e' at the end of words like lame or lime often doesn't make a sound.

Silent letters are found in many languages around the world. They are especially common in languages where the spelling doesn't always match the sounds perfectly. English is a great example of this, along with languages like French, Thai, and Mongolian.

What Are Silent Letters?

A silent letter is a letter that is written in a word but isn't pronounced. It's a part of the word's spelling, but it doesn't make any sound when you say the word. Think of it as a letter that's there for historical reasons or to help tell words apart.

For instance, when you say the word walk, you don't pronounce the 'l'. It's a silent 'l'. Similarly, in knife, the 'k' is silent. These letters can make learning to spell and pronounce English words a bit tricky, but they are an important part of the language.

Why Do We Have Silent Letters?

Silent letters exist for several reasons, often going back hundreds of years.

• Old spellings: Sometimes, a letter was pronounced in the past, but over time, the pronunciation changed while the spelling stayed the same. For example, the 'k' in knight used to be pronounced.
• Borrowed words: English has borrowed many words from other languages, like French or Latin. When these words came into English, their original spellings were often kept, even if some letters weren't pronounced in English. The 'p' in receipt comes from Latin.
• To show meaning: In some cases, a silent letter can help show the connection between words. The silent 'g' in sign is related to signal or signature, where the 'g' is pronounced.
• To avoid confusion: A silent letter can sometimes help distinguish between words that sound similar but have different meanings, like know (with a silent 'k') and no.

Common Silent Letters in English

English has many silent letters. Here are some of the most common ones you'll find:

Silent 'B'

The letter 'b' is often silent when it comes after 'm' at the end of a word.

• bomb (bom)
• climb (clim)
• comb (com)
• thumb (thum)
• lamb (lam)
• numb (num)

It can also be silent before 't'.

• debt (det)
• doubt (dout)

Silent 'C'

The letter 'c' can be silent in some words, especially before 's'.

• muscle (muss-el)
• scissors (siz-orz)
• fascinate (fass-in-ate)

Silent 'G'

The letter 'g' is often silent when it comes before 'n'.

• design (de-sine)
• foreign (for-in)
• sign (sine)
• gnome (nome)
• champagne (sham-pane)

Silent 'H'

The letter 'h' can be silent at the beginning of some words, especially those borrowed from French.

• hour (our)
• honest (on-est)
• honor (on-or)

It can also be silent after 'w'.

• what (wot)
• when (wen)
• why (wy)

Silent 'K'

The letter 'k' is almost always silent when it comes before 'n' at the beginning of a word.

• knee (nee)
• knife (nife)
• know (no)
• knock (nock)
• knight (nite)

Silent 'L'

The letter 'l' is often silent when it comes before 'k', 'm', 'f', or 'd'.

• walk (wok)
• talk (tok)
• calm (cam)
• half (haf)
• should (shood)
• would (wood)

Silent 'P'

The letter 'p' can be silent at the beginning of words, especially before 's', 't', or 'n'. These words often come from Greek.

• psychology (sy-kol-o-jee)
• pneumonia (new-moan-ya)
• receipt (re-seet)

Silent 'S'

The letter 's' is silent in a few common words.

• island (eye-land)
• aisle (ile)

Silent 'T'

The letter 't' can be silent in the middle of some words.

• listen (liss-en)
• castle (cass-el)
• whistle (whiss-el)
• Christmas (kriss-mas)

Silent 'W'

The letter 'w' is often silent when it comes before 'r' at the beginning of a word.

• write (rite)
• wrong (rong)
• wrap (rap)
• wrist (rist)

It can also be silent in a few other words.

• answer (an-ser)
• two (too)

How to Learn Silent Letters

Learning about silent letters can seem tricky, but here are some tips:

• Read a lot: The more you read, the more you'll see words with silent letters and start to recognize them.
• Listen carefully: Pay attention to how words are pronounced by native speakers.
• Practice spelling: Write down words and try to remember which letters are silent.
• Use a dictionary: If you're unsure about a word, look it up. Dictionaries often show how words are pronounced.

Understanding silent letters helps you become a better reader and speller in English!

Images for kids

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  The silent Arabic alif is marked with a wasla sign above it

See also

In Spanish: Letra muda para niños