SnapPhonics

smell

SMEHL/ˈsmɛl/verb
  1. nounA bad or good odour that you notice when you breathe in.

  2. verbTo notice an odour by breathing in air through your nose.

  3. verbTo have a particular odour.

  4. nounThe power to notice odours through your nose.

  5. nounTo notice something is wrong or strange about a situation.

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Syllables

smell

1 syllable

Letters

Word forms:

Related words (same phonics pattern)

Phonics breakdown

sm

Phonics Rule: SM Blend

S and M blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'small' and 'smile'.

The blend SM combines /s/ and /m/ spoken quickly together.

Examples

e

Phonics Rule: Short E

The letter E makes a short sound, like in 'bed' and 'red'.

When the letter E appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short E sound /ɛ/. This is often confused with short I by new readers.

Tip

E says /ɛ/ like an egg on your head.

Examples

ll

Phonics Rule: Double Consonant

Two of the same consonant together make just one sound, like the LL in 'ball' or TT in 'butter'.

When two identical consonants appear together, they make just one consonant sound, and the doubling signals a short vowel before it. A common case is the FLOSS rule: a one-syllable word with a short vowel doubles a final f, l, s, or z (off, ball, miss, buzz). Examples: ball, butter, happy, mitten, egg, off.

Tip

Double consonants make one sound — ball, butter, egg!

Examples

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