beautiful
adjLovely to look at and pleasant to see.
adjVery nice and pleasant in any way.
adjNice to listen to or pleasing to hear.
adjElegant and clever in how something is made or done.
Syllables
3 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter B
The letter B makes the /b/ sound, like in 'bat', 'big', and 'bug'. Both lips press together then release.
B is a voiced bilabial stop — both lips press together and release with voice. It always makes the /b/ sound except when silent at the end of words after m (as in 'lamb' or 'comb').
Tip
B looks like a bat — and bat starts with /b/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: EA Vowel Team (Long E)
When E and A are together, they usually say long E, like in 'teach' and 'beach'.
The vowel team 'ea' most commonly makes the long E sound /iː/. However, it can also say short E (like 'bread') or long A (like 'great'). The long E pronunciation is by far the most common.
Tip
When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.
Examples
Phonics Rule: Open Syllable U — /juː/ (Long U)
When U is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the U says its name with a /j/ glide — like in 'mu-sic' and 'hu-man'.
This is the open-syllable pattern: a syllable that ends in a vowel leaves it 'open', so it says its long name. Here, a lone U at the end of a syllable says /juː/ (mu-sic, hu-man, u-nit). After L, R, S, or J the Y-glide drops and U says /uː/ instead — see the companion Open Syllable U (/uː/) rule.
Tip
Long U says its name with a YOO sound!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter T
The letter T makes the /t/ sound, like in 'top', 'tap', and 'ten'. The tongue tip taps behind the upper teeth.
T is a voiceless alveolar stop. The tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth and releases with a puff of air. Double T (tt) makes the same /t/ sound.
Tip
T taps — touch your tongue to make /t/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Schwa
In unstressed syllables, vowels often make a lazy 'uh' sound called schwa, like the A in 'about'.
Schwa /ə/ is the most common vowel sound in English. Any vowel letter can make the schwa sound when it's in an unstressed syllable. It sounds like a quick, lazy 'uh'.
Tip
Schwa is lazy — any vowel can say 'uh' when it's not stressed!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Suffix -FUL
Adding -FUL means 'full of', like 'helpful' (full of help) and 'beautiful'.
The suffix -ful means 'full of' or 'having the quality of'. Note: the suffix is spelled with one L (-ful), not two (-full).
Tip
FUL means full of — helpful is full of help!
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
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