smiled
verbTurned up the corners of one's mouth to show happiness or pleasure.
verbHad a happy, friendly expression on one's face.
verbShowed a feeling of amusement, kindness, or love by the expression on one's face.
Syllables
1 syllable
Letters
Phonics breakdown
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
Phonics Rule: Open Syllable I (Long I)
When I is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the I says its name /aɪ/ — like in 'hi' and 'fi-nal'.
This is the open-syllable pattern: a syllable that ends in a vowel leaves it 'open', so it says its long name. Here, a lone I at the end of a syllable says /aɪ/ (hi, si-lent). The I also says its long name before two consonants in the 'ind' and 'ild' families (find, kind, child, mild). The long I sound is also spelled other ways, each its own rule — silent E (bike) or igh (night) — but those are not open syllables.
Tip
Long I says its name — I!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter L
The letter L makes the /l/ sound, like in 'lamp', 'leg', and 'lip'. The tongue tip touches behind the upper teeth.
L is a voiced lateral approximant — the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth while air flows around the sides. Double L (ll) makes the same /l/ sound.
Tip
L is for lamp — light it up with /l/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Suffix -ED (/d/ sound)
After voiced sounds like /b/, /g/, /n/, -ED says /d/, like in 'played' and 'named'.
After voiced consonants and vowels, -ed says /d/. The E is silent.
Tip
After a buzzy sound, -ED says /d/!
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
A phonics reference for teachers, parents and learners. Every English word, broken into the sounds that make it — with audio, syllables, and the rule behind each spelling.
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