marriage
PronouncedMEH-rihj
nounA close legal relationship between two or more people who have committed to live together as a family.
nounA ceremony where people promise to be partners and become a family.
nounThe state of being married to another person.
nounA strong connection between two different things that join together.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter M
Sound“m”·/m/
The letter M makes the /m/ sound, like in 'map', 'mud', and 'mop'. Both lips press together with voice through the nose.
M is a voiced bilabial nasal — both lips press together while the voice hums through the nose. Double M (mm) makes the same /m/ sound.
Tip
M hums like mmm — press your lips and hum!
Examples
Phonics Rule: R-Controlled AR
Sound“ar”·/ɑːr/
When R comes after A, it changes the sound to “ar”, like in 'car' and 'star'.
When A is followed by R, the R 'bosses' the vowel and changes its sound. Instead of short A or long A, you hear “ar”. R-controlled vowels are sometimes called 'Bossy R'.
Tip
Bossy R takes the car to the farm!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter R
Sound“r”·/r/
The letter R makes the /r/ sound, like in 'run', 'red', and 'rope'. The tongue curls back slightly.
R is a voiced approximant. The tongue curls back or bunches up without touching the roof of the mouth. When R follows a vowel it changes that vowel's sound (r-controlled vowels).
Tip
R is for run — /r/ with a curl of the tongue!
Examples
When the letter I appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short I sound “ih”. This is one of the trickiest short vowels because it sounds similar to short E.
Tip
I says “ih” like an itch you can't miss.
Examples
Phonics Rule: Suffix -AGE
Sound“ij”·/ɪdʒ/
In many words -AGE says “ij”, like in 'village' and 'message'.
When -AGE is an unstressed ending, it sounds like “ij” — village, message, cottage, package, manage, courage. (In words like 'age', 'cage', and 'stage' the A says long A — those are different.)
Tip
A message in the village — -AGE says “ij”!
Examples
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