virtue
nounAn admirable quality that shows a person is good and honest.
nounA good quality or advantage that something has.
nounGoodness and honesty in the way someone behaves.
nounA surname.
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter 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
Phonics Rule: R-Controlled IR
When R comes after I, it makes the /ɜːr/ sound, like in 'bird' and 'first'.
IR makes the same /ɜːr/ sound as ER and UR. There's no difference in pronunciation — only in spelling.
Tip
The bird in a shirt says /ɜːr/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter T
The letter T makes the /t/ sound, like in 'top', 'tap', and 'ten'. The tongue tip taps behind the upper teeth.
T is a voiceless alveolar stop. The tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth and releases with a puff of air. Double T (tt) makes the same /t/ sound.
Tip
T taps — touch your tongue to make /t/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: UE Vowel Team (/uː/)
UE at the end of a word usually says 'oo', like in 'blue' and 'true'.
After L, R, S, or J, UE makes the pure /uː/ sound — no Y-glide. Examples: blue, clue, true, glue. Companion rule vowel_team_ue_yoo handles the /juː/ variant after other consonants (rescue, cue, value).
Tip
UE after L, R, S, J — says oo!
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.