graces
PronouncedGRAY-sihz
nounCharming and pleasing qualities that make someone or something attractive.
nounShort prayers said before or after eating to give thanks for food.
nounBeautiful, smooth, and controlled movements or the quality of moving elegantly.
nounThree goddess sisters in ancient Greek stories who were said to represent beauty and joy.
nounFemale given names or surnames.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: GR Blend
Sound“gr”·/ɡr/
G and R blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'green' and 'grow'.
The blend GR combines /ɡ/ and /r/ spoken quickly together.
Examples
Phonics Rule: Open Syllable A (Long A)
Sound“ay”·/eɪ/
When A is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the A says its name “ay” — like in 'ba-by' and 'pa-per'.
This is the open-syllable pattern: a syllable that ends in a vowel leaves that vowel 'open', so it says its long name. Here, a lone A at the end of a syllable says “ay” (ba-by, a-pron, lady). The long A sound is also spelled other ways, each its own rule — silent E (cake), or vowel teams (ai in rain, ay in play) — but those are not open syllables.
Tip
Long A says its name — A!
Examples
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
Phonics Rule: Suffix -ES
Sound“iz”·/ɪz/
When a word already ends in a hissing or buzzing sound, -ES adds a whole extra syllable that says “iz” — like 'boxes' and 'pages'.
Try saying 'boxs' — you can't, the two hissing sounds run together. So the ending opens up into its own syllable: box → box-es. This happens after s, x, z, ch and sh (boxes, buzzes, watches, wishes), and also after a soft c or soft g, which are hissing and buzzing sounds themselves (faces, pages, bridges). When the word does NOT end in one of those sounds, the e goes quiet and the ending is just an /s/ or a /z/ — cakes, shoes.
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.