SnapPhonics

centre

PronouncedSEHN-ter

/ˈsɛn.tər/

  1. nounThe point inside a circle or sphere that is the same distance from all points on the edge.

  2. nounThe middle part of something, away from the edges.

  3. nounA building or place where a particular activity happens.

  4. verbTo move something so it is in the middle of a space.

  5. nounA player in some sports who plays in the middle of the court or field.

  6. nounThe most important thing that people are thinking or talking about.

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Syllables

centre

2 syllables

Letters

Phonics breakdown

c

Phonics Rule: Soft C

Sound“s”·/s/

C says /s/ before E, I, or Y, like in 'city' and 'face'.

When C comes before the letters E, I, or Y, it makes the soft /s/ sound instead of the hard /k/ sound. This is called 'Soft C'.

Tip

C is soft before E, I, Y — the city is nice!

Examples

e

Phonics Rule: Short E

Sound“eh”·/ɛ/

The letter E makes a short sound, like in 'bed' and 'red'.

When the letter E appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short E sound “eh”. This is often confused with short I by new readers.

Tip

E says “eh” like an egg on your head.

Examples

nt

Phonics Rule: NT End Blend

Sound“nt”·/nt/

NT at the end of a syllable blends /n/ and /t/ together, like in 'tent', 'mint', and 'want'.

NT is a very common end blend. The nasal /n/ flows into the stop /t/. In fast speech the /t/ is sometimes barely voiced, but both sounds are present.

Tip

NT tents up at the end — tent, mint, hunt!

Examples

r

Phonics Rule: Letter R

Sound“r”·/r/

The letter R makes the /r/ sound, like in 'run', 'red', and 'rope'. The tongue curls back slightly.

R is a voiced approximant. The tongue curls back or bunches up without touching the roof of the mouth. When R follows a vowel it changes that vowel's sound (r-controlled vowels).

Tip

R is for run — /r/ with a curl of the tongue!

Examples

e

Phonics Rule: Schwa

Sound“uh”·/ə/

In unstressed syllables, vowels often make a lazy 'uh' sound called schwa, like the A in 'about'.

Schwa “uh” 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

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