younger
PronouncedYUHNG-ger
adjectiveAt an earlier stage of life or growth than someone or something else.
adjectiveHaving the appearance or qualities of someone at an earlier stage of life.
adjectiveAt a more recent or early point in a period of time, like a decade.
adjectiveThe second of two people who share the same name.
nounA person who is at an earlier stage of life than another person.
Syllables
2 syllables
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
Phonics Rule: OU says “uh”
Sound“uh”·/ʌ/
OU can say the short “uh” sound, like in 'touch', 'country', and 'double'.
OU sometimes says the short-u “uh” sound, especially in common words: touch, country, young, double, trouble, cousin, couple.
Tip
OU can say uh — touch, young, double!
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: Suffix -ER
Sound“er”·/ɜːr/
Adding -ER can mean 'more' (bigger) or 'a person who' (teacher).
The suffix -er has two main uses: comparative ('big' → 'bigger' = more big) and agent ('teach' → 'teacher' = a person who teaches).
Examples
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