Silent letters

Silent letters are letters that are there when you type a word but are not pronounced when the word is spoken.

There are many silent letters in the English language. Silent letters can be found at the beginning, middle, or end of a word.

We will look at some silent letter rules here that will help you recognize when certain letters are to be silent. By understanding these silent letter rules, you can enhance your pronunciation skills and avoid common mistakes. 

• Aesthetic
• Aisle
• Artistically
• Automatically
• Basically
• Critically
• Genetically
• Logically
• Magically
• Musically
• Physically
• Romantically
• Stoically
• Surgically

The letter “B” is silent when it comes before the letter “T” or when it comes after the letter “M.” 

• Aplomb
• Bomb
• Climb
• Comb
• Coulomb
• Crumb
• Debt
• Debtor
• Doubt
• Dumb
• Jamb
• Lamb
• Limb
• Numb
• Plumber
• Subtle
• Succumb
• Thumb
• Tomb
• Womb

The letter “C” is silent when it is followed by the letters “E,” I,” or “Y.” and when the letter “C” follows the letter “S.”

Also, “C” is mute when it comes with “K” or “Q.”

• Abscess
• acknowledge
• Acquaintance
• Acquire
• Acquit
• Ascend
• Ascent
• Black
• Click
• Conscience
• Conscious
• Crescent
• Descend
• Descent
• Disciple
• Evanesce
• Fascinate
• Fluorescent
• Muscle
• Obscene
• Pick
• Quick
• Resuscitate
• Scenario
• Scene
• Scent
• Science
• Scissors
• Scythe
• Transcend
• Yacht

The letter “D” is silent when it is followed by the letter “N” or “G.”

• Adjective
• Adjust
• Badge
• Bridge
• Budget
• Dodge
• Edge
• Fridge
• Gadget
• Grandson
• Grudge
• Handkerchief
• Handsome
• Hedge
• Judge
• Ledger
• Lodge
• Pledge
• Porridge
• Sandwich
• Wedge
• Wednesday

The letter “E” is most commonly silent at the end of words.

Also, “E” may sometimes not be pronounced when it comes before the letter “D” in the second and third forms of the verbs. Arranged, traveled, fixed, bored.

• Age
• Bake
• Bite
• Breathe
• Bridge
• Change
• Closed
• Clothes
• Cute
• Fate
• Gene
• Hate
• Hope
• Kite
• Like
• Love
• Mate
• Name
• Opened
• Rude
• Please
• Site
• Tape
• Vegetable

The letter “G” is silent if it is followed by the letter “N” or “M.”

Exceptions: signature, designation, magnet, igneous, cognitive

• Align
• Assign
• Benign
• Campaign
• Champagne
• Cologne
• Consign
• Consignment
• Design
• Diaphragm
• Feign
• Foreign
• Gnarl
• Gnarled
• Gnarly
• Gnash
• Gnat
• Gnaw
• Gnome
• Gnu
• Malign
• Phlegm
• High
• Light
• Reign
• Resign
• Sign
• Sovereign
• Vignette

GH is silent when it comes after a vowel or at the end of many words.

GH is pronounced separately in compound words: Doghouse, bighead, jughead, foghorn.

Sometimes “GH” is pronounced “F.”: Enough, cough, rough, tough, laugh, trough, draught.

• Borough
• Bought
• Daughter
• Caught
• Drought
• Fight
• Flight
• High
• Light
• Might
• Neighbor
• Night
• Ought
• Right
• Sigh
• Sight
• Straight
• Thigh
• Tight
• Thorough
• Though
• Thought
• Weigh
• Weight
• Wright

The letter “H” is silent when it comes after the letter “W.”

It is often silent when it comes after the letter “C” or “R.”

It is also silent when it comes at the beginning of many words.

• Ache
• Anchor
• Archaeology
• Architect
• Archive
• Chaos
• Character
• Charisma
• Chemical
• Gherkin
• Ghetto
• Chlorine
• Choir
• Chord
• Choreograph
• Chrome
• Chorus
• Echo
• Ghost
• Honest
• Heir
• Honor
• Hour
• Mechanic
• Monarchy
• Orchestra
• Psychic
• Psychology
• Rhino
• Rhythm
• Rhubarb
• Schedule
• Scheme
• School
• Stomach
• Tech
• Technology
• Thailand
• Vehicle
• What
• When
• Where
• Whether
• Which
• While
• Whisper
• White
• Why
• Business
• Parliament

For words that begin with the silent H, use the article “an” instead of “a”: an honest man, an hour ago, etc.

Silent

letters

The letter “K” is silent when it comes before the letter “N” at the beginning of a word.

• Knack
• Knave
• Knead
• Knee
• Kneel
• Knell
• Knew
• Knickers
• Knife
• Knight
• Knit
• Knob
• Knock
• Knoll
• Knot
• Know
• Knowledge
• Knuckle

The letter “L” is silent if it follows the vowels “A, O, and U.”

• Almond
• Balm
• Behalf
• Calf
• Calm
• Chalk
• Colonel
• Could
• Folk
• Half
• Palm
• Salmon
• Should
• Stalk
• Talk
• Walk
• Would
• Yolk
• Mnemonic

The letter “N” is silent when it follows the letter “M.”

• Autumn
• Column
• Condemn
• Damn
• Hymn
• Solemn

The letter “O” is silent in some words when it comes with the vowel “E” or “U.”

• Double
• Enough
• Jeopardy
• Leopard
• People
• Rough
• Tough
• Trouble

The letter “P” is silent when it comes before the letters “S, T, and N.”

Sometimes “PH” is pronounced “F.”: Photo, phone, nephew, phrase, graph, sphere, physical, elephant.

• Corps
• Coup
• Cupboard
• Pneumatic
• Pneumonia
• Pseudo
• Psychiatrist
• Psychiatry
• Psychic
• Psychology
• Psychotherapy
• Psychiatric
• Psychotic
• Ptarmigan
• Pterodactyl
• Raspberry
• Receipt

The letter “S” is silent when it comes after the letter “L” or at the end of some words.

• Aisle
• Apropos
• Arkansas
• Bourgeois
• Debris
• Illinois
• Island
• Isle
• Islet

The letter “T” is silent in the following common words:

• Apostle
• Ballet
• Batch
• Beret
• Blotch
• Bristle
• Buffet
• Bustle
• Butcher
• Castle
• Catch
• Christen
• Christmas
• Crochet
• Debut
• Dispatch
• Fasten
• Glisten
• Gourmet
• Hustle
• Listen
• Match
• Moisten
• Mortgage
• Nestle
• Often
• Rapport
• Ricochet
• Rustle
• Scratch
• Sketch
• Soften
• Stitch
• Switch
• Thistle
• Watch
• Whistle
• Witch
• Wrestle
• Asthma

The letter “U” is silent when it comes after the letter “G” or before a vowel in a word.

• Baguette
• Biscuit
• Build
• Building
• Built
• Buoy
• Buy
• Circuit
• Disguise
• Guard
• Guess
• Guest
• Guide
• Guild
• Guile
• Guilt
• Guilty
• Guise
• Guitar
• Guy
• Silhouette

When a word ends with “que” or gue,” “ue” is silent.

• Antique
• Catalogue
• Colleague
• Dialogue
• Fatigue
• Intrigue
• League
• Plaque
• Prologue
• Rogue
• Tongue
• Vague
• Vogue

The letter “W” is silent when it comes before the letters “R,” and it is silent in some common words.

• Answer
• Awry
• Playwright
• Sword
• Two
• Who
• Whole
• Wrack
• Wrangle
• Wrap
• Wrapper
• Wrath
• Wreak
• Wreath
• Wreck
• Wreckage
• Wren
• Wrench
• Wrestling
• Wretched
• Wriggle
• Wright
• Wring
• Wrinkle
• Wrist
• Writ
• Write
• Written
• Wrong
• Wrote