yolk
PronouncedYOHK
nounThe yellow part inside an egg that feeds the baby bird.
nounA greasy substance found in sheep's wool.
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
Phonics Rule: Open Syllable O (Long O)
Sound“oh”·/oʊ/
When O is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the O says its name “oh” — like in 'go' and 'no'.
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 O at the end of a syllable says “oh” (go, no, so, o-pen). The O also says its long name in the 'old' and 'ost' families (cold, most). The long O sound is also spelled other ways, each its own rule — silent E (home) or vowel teams (oa in boat, ow in snow) — but those are not open syllables.
Tip
Long O says its name — O!
Examples
Phonics Rule: LK End Blend
Sound“lk”·/lk/
LK at the end of a syllable blends /l/ and /k/ together, like in 'milk', 'silk', and 'bulk'.
LK is an end blend where the lateral /l/ leads into the velar stop /k/.
Tip
LK silks at the end — milk, silk, bulk!
Examples
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