gratitude
A feeling of thankfulness for something good that someone did or gave you.
Syllables
3 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: GR Blend
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: 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: Letter 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: 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: Letter 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: Silent E with U — /uː/ (Magic E)
Same u-consonant-e Magic E pattern, but after L, R, S, or J the U says 'oo' instead of 'yoo' — like 'rule' and 'rude'.
Same u-consonant-e spelling, but when the U follows L, R, S, or J, the Y-glide drops and the sound is pure /uː/. Companion to silent_e_u_e.
Tip
After L, R, S, J — magic E makes U say oo!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter D
The letter D makes the /d/ sound, like in 'dog', 'day', and 'dig'. The tongue tip touches behind the upper teeth.
D is a voiced alveolar stop. The tongue tip touches the ridge just behind the upper front teeth, then releases with voice. It reliably makes the /d/ sound in almost all positions.
Tip
D is for dog — and dog starts with /d/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Silent E with U — /uː/ (Magic E)
Same u-consonant-e Magic E pattern, but after L, R, S, or J the U says 'oo' instead of 'yoo' — like 'rule' and 'rude'.
Same u-consonant-e spelling, but when the U follows L, R, S, or J, the Y-glide drops and the sound is pure /uː/. Companion to silent_e_u_e.
Tip
After L, R, S, J — magic E makes U say oo!
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
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