lawyers
nounPeople who have studied law and help others with legal problems in court or by giving advice.
nounPeople who have a graduate law degree that allows them to do legal work.
nounPeople who make arguments about what the law means.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter L
The letter L makes the /l/ sound, like in 'lamp', 'leg', and 'lip'. The tongue tip touches behind the upper teeth.
L is a voiced lateral approximant — the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth while air flows around the sides. Double L (ll) makes the same /l/ sound.
Tip
L is for lamp — light it up with /l/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: AW Vowel Team
AW makes the /ɔː/ sound, like in 'saw' and 'draw'.
The vowel team AW makes the /ɔː/ sound. It appears at the end of words or before L and N. Examples: saw, draw, law, claw, yawn, dawn.
Tip
AW says aw — saw, draw, claw!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter Y (Consonant)
At the start of a word or syllable, Y makes the /j/ sound, like in 'yes', 'yet', and 'yell'.
Y at the beginning of a word acts as a consonant and makes the /j/ sound. In the middle or end of a word, Y acts as a vowel (gym, happy, my). Context determines which role Y plays.
Tip
Y at the start says /j/ — yes, you got it!
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
Phonics Rule: Plural -S (/z/ sound)
After voiced sounds, -S says /z/, like in 'dogs' and 'birds'.
After voiced consonants and vowels, the plural -s says /z/. Most people don't notice this — it sounds natural.
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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