franchises
nounBusinesses that sell or serve a company's products or services in a certain area using the company's name and methods.
nounOfficial permissions given by a company to other people or businesses to sell or distribute its goods or services in a certain place.
nounAll the teams and history that belong to a sports organization, going back through time as one group.
nounRelated stories, films, or television shows that all happen in the same made-up world and are approved by the same owner.
nounThe power to vote in elections or referendums.
Syllables
3 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: FR Blend
F and R blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'from' and 'free'.
The blend FR combines /f/ and /r/ spoken quickly together.
Examples
Phonics Rule: Short A
The letter A makes a short sound, like in 'cat' and 'bat'.
When the letter A appears in a closed syllable (a syllable that ends with a consonant), it usually makes the short A sound /æ/. This is one of the first vowel sounds students learn.
Tip
A says /æ/ like a cat that sat on a mat.
Examples
Phonics Rule: NCH End Blend
NCH at the end of a syllable makes the /ntʃ/ sound, like in 'lunch', 'bench', and 'ranch'.
NCH combines the nasal /n/ with the digraph CH (/tʃ/). The result is /ntʃ/ — three sounds blended smoothly together at the end of a syllable.
Tip
NCH crunches — /ntʃ/ lunch, bench, punch!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Open Syllable I (Long I)
When I is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the I says its name /aɪ/ — like in 'hi' and 'fi-nal'.
This is the open-syllable pattern: a syllable that ends in a vowel leaves it 'open', so it says its long name. Here, a lone I at the end of a syllable says /aɪ/ (hi, si-lent). The I also says its long name before two consonants in the 'ind' and 'ild' families (find, kind, child, mild). The long I sound is also spelled other ways, each its own rule — silent E (bike) or igh (night) — but those are not open syllables.
Tip
Long I says its name — I!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter 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
The suffix -ES is added to words ending in S, X, Z, CH, or SH to make them plural or third-person singular.
When a word ends in a hissing or buzzing sound (s, x, z, ch, sh), adding just -S would be hard to say. So -ES is added instead and pronounced /ɪz/ — it adds a syllable. For example: box → boxes, wish → wishes, buzz → buzzes.
Tip
-ES adds a whole extra syllable — box-es, wish-es!
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.