cases
PronouncedKAY-suhz
nounMore than one box or container holding things.
nounMore than one specific situation, event, or problem that someone has to deal with.
nounMore than one legal proceeding or lawsuit.
nounMore than one example of a disease or condition.
nounMore than one piece of luggage used to carry things.
nounMore than one glass or plastic container for displaying objects inside.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Hard C
Sound“k”·/k/
C makes the /k/ sound before A, O, U, or a consonant, like in 'cat' and 'cup'.
The letter C makes the hard /k/ sound when followed by A, O, U, or a consonant. This is the default C sound. Examples: cat, cup, coat, cold, crab, class.
Tip
C says K before A, O, U — cat, cup, coat!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Open Syllable A (Long A)
Sound“ay”·/eɪ/
When A is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the A says its name “ay” — like in 'ba-by' and 'pa-per'.
This is the open-syllable pattern: a syllable that ends in a vowel leaves that vowel 'open', so it says its long name. Here, a lone A at the end of a syllable says “ay” (ba-by, a-pron, lady). The long A sound is also spelled other ways, each its own rule — silent E (cake), or vowel teams (ai in rain, ay in play) — but those are not open syllables.
Tip
Long A says its name — A!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter S
Sound“s”·/s/
The letter S usually makes the /s/ sound, like in 'sun', 'sit', and 'sock'. Air hisses through a small gap.
S is a voiceless alveolar fricative when it makes the /s/ sound. At the end of many words it can also make a /z/ sound (as in 'dogs' or 'has'). At the start of a word it is always /s/.
Tip
S hisses like a snake — sssssun!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Suffix -ES
Sound“iz”·/ɪz/
When a word already ends in a hissing or buzzing sound, -ES adds a whole extra syllable that says “iz” — like 'boxes' and 'pages'.
Try saying 'boxs' — you can't, the two hissing sounds run together. So the ending opens up into its own syllable: box → box-es. This happens after s, x, z, ch and sh (boxes, buzzes, watches, wishes), and also after a soft c or soft g, which are hissing and buzzing sounds themselves (faces, pages, bridges). When the word does NOT end in one of those sounds, the e goes quiet and the ending is just an /s/ or a /z/ — cakes, shoes.
Tip
-ES adds a whole extra syllable — box-es, wish-es!
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
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