father
nounA man who is the male parent of a child.
nounA man who has invented or started something important.
nounA priest in the Christian church.
verbTo be the parent of a child.
nounA man who came before you in your family, many years ago.
verbTo care for someone and help them grow, like a parent does.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter F
The letter F makes the /f/ sound, like in 'fish', 'fun', and 'fox'. The upper teeth touch the lower lip.
F is a voiceless labiodental fricative — the upper front teeth rest on the lower lip while air flows through to make the /f/ sound. It is very consistent.
Tip
F is for fish — and fish starts with /f/!
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: TH Digraph (Voiced)
TH can make a buzzy sound /ð/, like in 'this' and 'the'. You can feel your throat vibrate!
The voiced TH /ð/ 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
Phonics Rule: R-Controlled ER
When R comes after E, it makes the /ɜːr/ sound, like in 'her' and 'fern'.
ER makes the same sound as IR and UR — they all say /ɜːr/. ER is the most common spelling of this sound, especially at the end of words.
Tip
ER, IR, and UR all sound the same — Bossy R wins again!
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.
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