yams
PronouncedYAMZ
nounStarchy root vegetables with rough brown skin that grow underground in tropical places.
nounSweet potatoes; orange tubers eaten as food.
nounClimbing plants with edible underground tubers.
nounAn orange-brown colour like the inside of a yam.
Syllables
1 syllable
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter Y (Consonant)
Sound“y”·/j/
At the start of a word or syllable, Y makes the /j/ sound, like in 'yes', 'yet', and 'yell'.
Y at the beginning of a word acts as a consonant and makes the /j/ sound. In the middle or end of a word, Y acts as a vowel (gym, happy, my). Context determines which role Y plays.
Tip
Y at the start says /j/ — yes, you got it!
Examples
When the letter A appears in a closed syllable (a syllable that ends with a consonant), it usually makes the short A sound “a”. This is one of the first vowel sounds students learn.
Tip
A says “a” like a cat that sat on a mat.
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter M
Sound“m”·/m/
The letter M makes the /m/ sound, like in 'map', 'mud', and 'mop'. Both lips press together with voice through the nose.
M is a voiced bilabial nasal — both lips press together while the voice hums through the nose. Double M (mm) makes the same /m/ sound.
Tip
M hums like mmm — press your lips and hum!
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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