Silent Letters

Silent Letters – In the English Language, there are silent letters in the words. There are so many words with one or two silent letters in them and it makes the pronunciation of the word hard. It is hard to read, speak, spell, pronounce, or remember English words because of the silent alphabet in the word. There is a list of all silent letters in English words. When a letter is silent in English words, it is explained here. Let’s learn all the reasons to have a silent letter in the English Language.

List of Silent Letters in the English Language.

A = Artistically, bread, critically, logically, musically, physically, romantically, stoically, tread

B = Aplomb, bomb, climb, comb, coulomb, crumb, debt, doubt, dumb, jamb, lamb, limb, numb, plumber, subpoena, subtle, succumb, thumb, tomb, womb

mb = When there is ‘mb‘ together in a word, ‘B‘ is always silent.

C = Abscess, acquire, ascend, ascent, Connecticut, conscience, conscious, crescent, descend, disciple, evanesce, fascinate, fluorescent, indict, muscle, obscene, resuscitate, scenario, scene, scent, science, scissors, transcend

Ch = Yacht

D = Handkerchief, handsome, sandwich, Wednesday

dg = When there is a vowel before ‘dg,’ ‘D‘ is silent.

For example – Badge, bridge, edge, hedge, wedge

E = Age, breathe, bridge, change, clothes, give, imagine, leave, plaque, please, sleeve (sleeve), vegetable, Wednesday

CVCV – Consonant + Vowel + Consonant + e = Bake [B (Consonant) + A (Vowel) + K (Consonant) + E]

CCVCV – Consonant + Consonant + Vowel + Consonant + e = Brace [B (Consonant) + R (Consonant) + A (Vowel) + C (Consonant) + E]

Almost All CVC words ending in e = Bake, bike, bone, brace, bribe, broke, cute, cage, chase, chime, chose, chute, code, dive, dome, dune, drove, fame, flute, froze, fume, fuse, gene, hate, hose, huge, lane, kite, like, love, made, mule, mute, name, nose, pile, plate, plume, poke, prune, race, ride, sale, shake, shine, shone, spice, tape, tire, tribe, truce, tube, tune, vote, wipe, whale,

and many other vowel combinations.

F =

G = Align, assign, benign, campaign, champagne, cologne, consign, design, feign, foreign, gnat, gnarl, gnash, gnaw, gnome, gnostic, gnu, reign, sign

gn = When there is ‘gn’ together in a word, ‘G‘ is always silent.

Gh = Eight, drought, height, high, light, though, through, right, weigh

H = Ache, anchor, archaeology, architect, chaos, character, charisma, chemical, chemistry, chlorine, choir, chord, choreograph, chrome, echo, ghost, heir, herb, honest, honor, hour, mechanic, monarchy, orchestra, psychic, rhyme, rhythm, scheme, school, stomach, tech, thyme, Thailand, what, when, where, whether, which, while, white, why

I = Business, parliament, suit

J = Marijuana

K = Knack, knead, knee, kneel, knew, knickers, knife, knight, knit, knob, knock, knot, know, knowledge, known, knuckle

Kn = When a word starts with ‘Kn,’ ‘K‘ is always silent.

L = Almond, balm, calf, calm. chalk, could, folk, half, palm, psalm, salmon, should, talk, walk, would, yolk

M = Mnemonic

N = Autumn, column, condemn, damn, government, hymn, limn, solemn

mn = When a word ends with ‘mn,’ ‘N‘ is silent.

O = Jeopardy, leopard, people

‘O’ sounds ‘A’ in these words – Opossum, enough, rough, sophomore, tough

Colonel – First ‘O‘ is silent. The second ‘O‘ sounds like ‘A.’

P = Corps, Coup, cupboard, raspberry, receipt

Pn = When a word starts with ‘Pn,’ ‘P‘ is silent.

For example – Pneuma, pneumatic, pneumonia

Ps = When a word starts with ‘Ps,’ ‘P‘ is silent.

For example – Psalm, psalter, pseudo, psyche, psychiatrist, psychology

Comptroller = ‘Mp‘ somehow pronounces as ‘N.’ ‘Comptroller’ pronounces as ‘Controller.

Q = Lacquer

R = Forecastle

American pronounces ‘R’ in words.

But Britisher does not clearly pronounce ‘R‘ when ‘R‘ comes after any vowel.

For example – Air, board, car, door, ear, fortune, guard, hammer, international, jitter, knickers, lantern, monger, narrower, older, porch, quarter, rigger, surprise, torch, users, volar, warm, Xavier, yearbook, zygomorphous…

S = Aisle, apropos, bourgeois, debris, isle, island, patios

T = Apostle, ballet, bristle, bustle, butcher, castle, Christmas, fasten, glisten, gourmet, hustle, listen, match, moisten, mortgage, nestle, often, rapport, ricochet, rustle, scratch, soften, thistle, watch, whistle, witch, wrestle

Th = Asthma, isthmus, northeaster (nor’easter)

U = Baguette, biscuit, build, catalogue, circuit, colleague, dialogue, disguise, fugue, guard, guess, guest, guide, guild, guilt, guile, guitar, laugh, league, plague, plaque, rogue, silhouette, tongue, vogue

American Spelling = Catalog, dialog

British Spelling = Catalogue, dialogue

V =

W = Answer, awry, playwright, sword, two, who, whole

Wr = When a word starts with ‘Wr,’ ‘W‘ is silent.

For example – Wrack, wraith, wrangle, wrap, wrapper, wrath, wreath, wreck, wreckage, wren, wrench, wrestle, wriggle, wring, wrinkle, wrist, writ, write, written, wrong, wrote, wrought