rainbow
PronouncedRAYN-boh
nounA curved band of different colours that appears in the sky when the sun shines through rain.
adjectiveSomething that has many different colours arranged like the colours in the sky after rain.
nounA wide variety of different things.
nounAny light that splits into a spectrum of colours.
nounA type of fish with coloured markings.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
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
Phonics Rule: AI Vowel Team
Sound“ay”·/eɪ/
When A and I are together, they say long A, like in 'rain' and 'train'.
The vowel team 'ai' makes the long A sound “ay”. It usually appears in the middle of a word. At the end of a word, the same sound is usually spelled 'ay'.
Tip
AI in the middle says long A — rain on the train!
Examples
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: Letter B
Sound“b”·/b/
The letter B makes the /b/ sound, like in 'bat', 'big', and 'bug'. Both lips press together then release.
B is a voiced bilabial stop — both lips press together and release with voice. It always makes the /b/ sound except when silent at the end of words after m (as in 'lamb' or 'comb').
Tip
B looks like a bat — and bat starts with /b/!
Examples
The spelling 'ow' can make the long O sound “oh”, especially at the end of a word. It can also make the “ow” diphthong sound (like 'cow').
Tip
Snow falls slow — OW says long O!
Examples
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