SnapPhonics

stripes

PronouncedSTREYEPS

/ˈstraɪps/noun
  1. nounMore than one long band of colour that repeats in a pattern.

  2. nounMore than one long narrow mark on something, usually going across it.

  3. nounBadges worn by officers in the military or police to show their rank.

  4. nounMore than one mark left on skin by being hit with a whip or stick.

  5. nounIn pool, the balls with bands around them that one player tries to hit into pockets.

Save to your word list — create a free account

Syllables

stripes

1 syllable

Letters

Phonics breakdown

str

Phonics Rule: STR Blend

Sound“str”·/str/

S, T, and R blend together — you hear all three! Like in 'strong' and 'street'.

STR is a three-letter consonant blend. You hear /s/, /t/, and /r/ spoken quickly together. It always appears at the beginning of a word.

Examples

Sound“eye”·/aɪ/

When I is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the I says its name “eye” — 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 “eye” (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

p

Phonics Rule: Letter P

Sound“p”·/p/

The letter P makes the /p/ sound, like in 'pan', 'pig', and 'pot'. Both lips press together then pop open.

P is a voiceless bilabial stop — both lips press together and release with a puff of air but no voice. It pairs with B (which is the voiced version of the same mouth position).

Tip

P pops open — press your lips and let it POP!

Examples

es

Phonics Rule: Plural -S (/s/ sound)

Sound“s”·/s/

After a quiet sound like p, t, k or f, the plural ending says /s/ — like 'cats' and 'cakes'.

Say 'ssss' and then 'zzzz' with a finger on your throat — only 'zzzz' buzzes. When the word already ends in a quiet (unvoiced) sound like p, t, k or f, the plural ending stays quiet too and says /s/. This happens whether the word is spelled -s (cats) or -es (cakes, notes), because in cakes the e is silent and only the s is sounded.

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.

Save words to study lists, build flashcard decks, and scan your own worksheets and books.