Identifying and pronouncing digraphs
Topic: Identifying and Pronouncing digraphs What's are digraphs? A digraph is a combination of two letters that make a single sound, as in the "ph" in "phone." Digraphs can include a combination of consonants or vowels.
Consonant Digraph Examples
Digraphs can make initial sounds, and come at the beginning,
middle, or end of the word.
| Digraph | Initial or Final Sound | Examples |
| “ch-“ | Initial | chair, cheese, child |
| “-ch“ | Final | lunch, pinch, rich |
| “-ck“ | Final | luck, sick, tuck |
| “kn-“ | Initial | knight, knife, knot |
| “ph-“ | Initial | phone, phonics, phrase |
| “sh-“ | Initial | shape, ship, shoe |
| “-sh“ | Final | brush, dish, flash |
| “-ss“ | Final | bliss, chess, mess |
| “th-“ | Initial | think, three, thumb |
| “-th“ | Final | bath, earth, with |
| “wh-“ | Initial | whale, what, why |
| “wr-“ | Initial | wreck, wrist, writing |
One thing to note is that there are two types of digraphs.
The most common type is known as a heterogeneous digraph.
Meaning it’s made up of two different letters, like “ck” or “sh.”
We also have homogenous digraphs that are made up
of two of the same letters, like “ss.”
Vowel Digraph Examples
Vowel digraphs are usually placed in the middle of words.
This is not always the case as we’ll see in the “ea” digraph pairing
that can come at the beginning of words like “each” and the end
of words like “plea.”
| Digraph | Examples |
| “ai“ | gain, maim, stain |
| “ay“ | day, play, stay |
| “ea“ | beach, read, speak |
| “ee“ | feet, peek, sheet |
| “ie“ | brief, chief, thief |
| “ie“ | cried, pie, tied |
| “oa“ | boat, goat, road |
| “oe“ | aloe, toe, woe |
| “oe“ | canoe, horseshoe, snowshoe |
| “oo“ | book, cook, shook |
| “oo“ | zoo, boom, noon |
| “ue“ | argue, blue, rescue |
| “ui“ | cruise, fruit, recruit |
Pronouncing Digraphs