wings
PronouncedWIHNGZ
The body parts that birds and insects use to fly through the air.
Syllables
1 syllable
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter W
Sound“w”·/w/
The letter W makes the /w/ sound, like in 'win', 'wet', and 'web'. The lips round into an O shape.
W is a voiced bilabial approximant — the lips round tightly then open as voice flows. W is sometimes silent (write, wrong) and can act as a vowel in some combinations (aw, ew, ow).
Tip
W rounds your lips — make an O then say /w/!
Examples
When the letter I appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short I sound “ih”. This is one of the trickiest short vowels because it sounds similar to short E.
Tip
I says “ih” like an itch you can't miss.
Examples
Phonics Rule: NG Digraph
Sound“ng”·/ŋ/
NG together makes the “ng” sound at the back of your mouth, like in 'ring' and 'song'.
The digraph 'ng' makes the nasal sound “ng”. This sound is made at the back of your mouth/throat. It almost always appears at the end of a word or syllable.
Tip
Sing a song — NG rings along!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Plural -S (/z/ sound)
Sound“z”·/z/
After a buzzing sound or a vowel, the plural ending says /z/ — like 'dogs' and 'shoes'.
Put a finger on your throat and say 'zzzz' — you feel a buzz. When the word ends in a buzzing (voiced) sound or a vowel, the plural ending buzzes too and says /z/. This happens whether the word is spelled -s (dogs) or -es (shoes, trees), because in shoes the e is silent and only the s is sounded. Most people never notice they are doing this.
Examples
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