curtain
PronouncedKER-tuhn
nounA piece of cloth that hangs over a window to block light and give privacy.
nounA cloth that hangs between the stage and the audience in a theater.
verbTo cover a window with a piece of cloth.
verbTo hide something as if you were covering it with a cloth.
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: R-Controlled UR
Sound“er”·/ɜːr/
When R comes after U, it makes the “er” sound, like in 'turn' and 'burn'.
UR makes the same “er” sound as ER and IR. It's the least common of the three spellings.
Tip
The nurse with fur says “er”!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter T
Sound“t”·/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: AI says “uh” (-tain, -gain)
Sound“uh”·/ə/
At the end of a word in -TAIN or -GAIN, AI relaxes to the lazy schwa “uh” — 'mountain' ends like 'mount-uhn', not 'mount-TAIN'.
AI usually says long A “ay” (rain, train). But in the unstressed endings -tain and -gain the syllable is spoken quickly and the vowel relaxes to schwa “uh”: mountain, captain, certain, curtain, bargain. Say the word naturally and listen to the last syllable — it is “uhn”, not “ayn”. This is the same relaxing that turns the OU of famous into a schwa.
Tip
Mountains are tall but the ending is lazy — mount-uhn!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter N
Sound“n”·/n/
The letter N makes the /n/ sound, like in 'net', 'nap', and 'nut'. The tongue tip touches behind the upper teeth.
N is a voiced alveolar nasal — the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth while voice hums through the nose. It is one of the most common consonants in English.
Tip
N hums through the nose — say /n/ and feel the buzz!
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
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