SnapPhonics

brother

PronouncedBRUH-ther

/ˈbrʌ.ðər/noun
  1. nounA boy or man who has the same parents as you.

  2. nounA boy or man who shares at least one parent with you.

  3. nounA man who is a member of a religious community or church.

  4. nounA man you are friendly with or who shares something in common with you.

  5. nounA casual way to speak to a man.

Save to your word list — create a free account

Syllables

brother

2 syllables

Letters

Base word

broth

Related words (same phonics pattern)

Phonics breakdown

br

Phonics Rule: BR Blend

Sound“br”·/br/

B and R blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'brown' and 'bring'.

The blend BR combines /b/ and /r/ spoken quickly together.

Examples

o

Phonics Rule: O says “uh”

Sound“uh”·/ʌ/

O sometimes says the “uh” sound (like short U), like in 'son', 'love', and 'month'.

In a set of common words, O says “uh” instead of short “o”: son, won, month, mother, brother, love, glove, dove, dozen, oven, money, honey.

Tip

O can say uh — son, love, month!

Examples

th

Phonics Rule: TH Digraph (Voiced)

Sound“th”·/ð/

TH can make a buzzy sound “th”, like in 'this' and 'the'. You can feel your throat vibrate!

The voiced TH “th” is the vibrating version. Put your hand on your throat — you can feel it buzz. This sound appears in very common words like 'the', 'this', 'that', 'they'.

Tip

Voiced TH buzzes — this, that, the!

Examples

er

Phonics Rule: Suffix -ER

Sound“er”·/ɜːr/

Adding -ER can mean 'more' (bigger) or 'a person who' (teacher).

The suffix -er has two main uses: comparative ('big' → 'bigger' = more big) and agent ('teach' → 'teacher' = a person who teaches).

Examples

What is SnapPhonics?

A phonics reference for teachers, parents and learners. Every English word, broken into the sounds that make it — with audio, syllables, and the rule behind each spelling.

Save words to study lists, build flashcard decks, and scan your own worksheets and books.