SnapPhonics

sleeveless

PronouncedSLEEV-lihs

/ˈsliːv.lɪs/adjective

Without sleeves; a shirt or dress with no arms covering.

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Syllables

sleeveless

2 syllables

Letters

Related words (same phonics pattern)

Phonics breakdown

sl

Phonics Rule: SL Blend

Soundsl·/sl/

S and L blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'slow' and 'sleep'.

The blend SL combines /s/ and /l/ spoken quickly together.

Examples

ee

Phonics Rule: EE Vowel Team

Soundee·/iː/

When two E's are together, they say long E, like in 'tree' and 'see'.

The vowel team 'ee' almost always makes the long E sound “ee”. This is one of the most reliable vowel teams in English.

Tip

Two E's together always agree — they say “ee”!

Examples

v

Phonics Rule: Letter V

Soundv·/v/

The letter V makes the /v/ sound, like in 'van', 'vet', and 'vine'. Upper teeth touch the lower lip with voice.

V is a voiced labiodental fricative — the upper front teeth rest on the lower lip while air and voice flow through. It is the voiced partner of F. English words rarely end in V; they usually add an E (have, live, give).

Tip

V is for van — /v/ vibrates your lips!

Examples

e

Phonics Rule: Silent E with E (Magic E)

Soundee·/iː/

In the e-consonant-e pattern, the E at the end is silent and makes the first E say its name “ee” — like in 'these' and 'complete'. Teachers often call this the Magic E.

In the pattern e-consonant-e (like 'these'), the final E is silent but it makes the first E say its long sound “ee”. This is the least common of the Magic-E patterns. Examples: these, theme, scene, complete, gene, eve.

Tip

Magic E makes E say its name — these, theme, complete!

Examples

less

Phonics Rule: Suffix -LESS

Soundliss·/lɪs/

The suffix -LESS means 'without'. It turns a noun or verb into an adjective.

-LESS means without: helpless = without help, fearless = without fear, careless = without care. It is always pronounced “liss” and never changes the spelling of the base word.

Tip

-LESS means without — helpless means without help!

Examples

What is SnapPhonics?

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