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Silent letters
knee, write, gnaw, thumb, island.
Grades 2-8
The rule
Many English words keep a letter that is no longer pronounced. The silent letter is usually a fossil — it was said aloud centuries ago, or it came in with the word from another language.
How it works
| kn: knee, knife, knock | the k was once pronounced |
| wr: write, wrong, wrist | the w was once pronounced |
| gn: gnaw, gnome, sign | silent g |
| mb: thumb, lamb, climb | silent b at the end |
| gh: light, though, daughter | silent gh |
| st: listen, castle, whistle | silent t |
Watch out for
- A silent letter often reappears in a related word, which is the easiest way to remember it: sign → signal, bomb → bombard, muscle → muscular.
- Silent letters at the start (kn-, wr-, gn-, ps-, pn-) almost always mean the word is old English or Greek in origin.