Spelling rule
Silent letters
Some letters are written but not said. Many were spoken hundreds of years ago and stayed in the spelling after people stopped saying them.
How it works
- 1
Silent k before n
- knowledge
- knee
- knight
- knock
- 2
Silent w
- answer
- write
- wrong
- sword
- 3
Silent u after g
It keeps the g hard (a 'g' sound, not a 'j').
- guard
- guide
- guess
- guitar
- 4
Silent u in build and biscuit
- build
- built
- biscuit
- 5
Silent s and c
- island
- aisle
- muscle
- scissors
- science
- 6
Silent h
- rhyme
- rhythm
- honest
- hour
- 7
Silent g
- foreign
- reign
- sign
- design
- 8
Silent t (in many accents)
- often
- listen
- castle
- whistle
- 9
Silent ch
- yacht
Watch out
- Link the silent letter to a related word where you can hear it: sign → signature, muscle → muscular, know → acknowledge.
Memory trick
Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move: the first letters spell rhythm.
Words to practise
Years 3 and 4 statutory words
- answer
- island
- knowledge
- guard
- guide
- build
- reign
- often
Years 5 and 6 statutory words
- muscle
- rhyme
- rhythm
- yacht
- foreign
- signature
Practise a few minutes a day
The daily spelling workout brings back the words your child finds tricky, and shows you which rules they need to revisit.