SnapPhonics

quicksand

PronouncedKWIHK-sand

/ˈkwɪk.ˌsænd/noun

  1. nounWet sand near water that looks hard but sucks things down into it.

  2. nounA situation or problem that gets worse the harder you try to escape from it.

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Syllables

quicksand

2 syllables

Letters

Related words (same phonics pattern)

requiresquiheadquarteredsquadarabesquesunique

Phonics breakdown

qu

Phonics Rule: QU Blend

Sound“kw”·/kw/

QU always makes the /kw/ sound together, like in 'queen', 'quick', and 'quit'.

Q almost never appears without U in English. The QU combination blends /k/ and /w/ into a single unit. Think of QU as a team that always works together.

Tip

QU is a team — /kw/ like a duck that says quack!

Examples

i

Phonics Rule: Short I

Sound“ih”·/ɪ/

The letter I makes a short sound, like in 'sit' and 'big'.

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

ck

Phonics Rule: CK Digraph

Sound“k”·/k/

CK together makes the /k/ sound, like in 'back' and 'kick'.

The digraph 'ck' appears right after a short vowel at the end of a one-syllable word. If the vowel is short, use CK. If the vowel is long, use just K (like 'make').

Tip

Short vowel? CK comes quick — back, kick, duck!

Examples

s

Phonics Rule: Letter S

Sound“s”·/s/

The letter S usually makes the /s/ sound, like in 'sun', 'sit', and 'sock'. Air hisses through a small gap.

S is a voiceless alveolar fricative when it makes the /s/ sound. At the end of many words it can also make a /z/ sound (as in 'dogs' or 'has'). At the start of a word it is always /s/.

Tip

S hisses like a snake — sssssun!

Examples

a

Phonics Rule: Short A

Sound“a”·/æ/

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 “a”. This is one of the first vowel sounds students learn.

Tip

A says “a” like a cat that sat on a mat.

Examples

nd

Phonics Rule: ND End Blend

Sound“nd”·/nd/

ND at the end of a syllable blends /n/ and /d/ together, like in 'hand', 'sand', and 'send'.

ND is a common end blend (coda blend). The nasal /n/ and voiced stop /d/ are both heard. It appears very frequently in English words.

Tip

ND ends with a d-d-d — hand, sand, send!

Examples

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