friends
PronouncedFREHNDZ
nounMore than one person you enjoy spending time with and care about.
nounMore than one person who helps or supports you.
nounMore than one person you know but are not very close to.
nounMore than one person who backs or supports a cause or idea.
nounMore than one member of the Society of Friends, a religious group also called Quakers.
verbTo add more than one person to your list of contacts on a social networking website.
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: FR Blend
Sound“fr”·/fr/
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: IE Vowel Team (Long E)
Sound“ee”·/iː/
When IE appears in the middle of a word, it usually says long E, like in 'piece' and 'chief'.
The vowel team IE makes the long E sound “ee” in the middle of a word. Examples: piece, chief, field, shield, brief. Remember: I before E except after C.
Tip
IE in the middle says EE — piece, chief, field!
Examples
Phonics Rule: ND End Blend
Sound“nd”·/nd/
ND at the end of a syllable blends /n/ and /d/ together, like in 'hand', 'sand', and 'send'.
ND is a common end blend (coda blend). The nasal /n/ and voiced stop /d/ are both heard. It appears very frequently in English words.
Tip
ND ends with a d-d-d — hand, sand, send!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Plural -S (/z/ sound)
Sound“z”·/z/
After a buzzing sound or a vowel, the plural ending says /z/ — like 'dogs' and 'shoes'.
Put a finger on your throat and say 'zzzz' — you feel a buzz. When the word ends in a buzzing (voiced) sound or a vowel, the plural ending buzzes too and says /z/. This happens whether the word is spelled -s (dogs) or -es (shoes, trees), because in shoes the e is silent and only the s is sounded. Most people never notice they are doing this.
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.