naughty
PronouncedNAW-tee
adjectiveBehaving badly or not doing what you are told to do.
adjectivePleasantly bad or naughty in a fun way, like eating cake when you should eat healthy food.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter N
Sound“n”·/n/
The letter N makes the /n/ sound, like in 'net', 'nap', and 'nut'. The tongue tip touches behind the upper teeth.
N is a voiced alveolar nasal — the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth while voice hums through the nose. It is one of the most common consonants in English.
Tip
N hums through the nose — say /n/ and feel the buzz!
Examples
Phonics Rule: AU Vowel Team
Sound“aw”·/ɔː/
When A and U are together, they make the “aw” sound, like in 'author' and 'pause'.
The vowel team AU makes the “aw” sound (same as AW). It appears in the middle of words. Examples: author, pause, fault, haunt, cause.
Tip
AU says aw — author, pause, fault!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Silent GH
Sound“silent”
GH is often silent after a vowel, like in 'daughter' and 'taught'.
The combination GH is silent in many common words after vowel teams IGH, OUGH, AUGH, EIGH. Examples: night, through, daughter, eight, taught.
Tip
GH hides silently — night, through, daughter!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter T
Sound“t”·/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: Y as Long E
Sound“ee”·/iː/
When Y is at the end of a longer word, it says long E, like in 'happy' and 'funny'.
When Y appears at the end of a multi-syllable word, it makes the long E sound “ee”. Very common in adjectives (happy, funny, silly) and nouns (baby, candy).
Tip
Y at the end of a long word says EEE — happy, funny, baby!
Examples
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