20 English words with silent letters
Hear what stays silent and what still needs to be said.
Group the words by the silent letter
Start with b in thumb, comb, and climb. Then try the initial letters in psychology, pneumonia, and mnemonic. Their spellings preserve letters that do not appear as separate sounds in the listed pronunciations. The practice notes tell you which sound to start or finish with instead.
Keep the neighboring consonants
A silent letter does not make all nearby letters silent. Doubt still ends in t, hymn still ends in m, and sword still ends in d. Use the IPA to check the remaining sounds and listen for them in the video. Practice the whole word before inserting it into a short phrase.
Make a listening check
Choose five words and write down your prediction about the silent letter in each. Watch the examples and revise your list. For an extra round, compare debt and receipt in the business guide, or salmon in the food guide. Learn each word rather than assuming a spelling rule has no exceptions.
Your listening list
20 wordsChoose a word to hear it in an APG video.
Test these pronunciations
Try 4 questions from this guide. Each answer includes an APG video, dictionary reference, and explanation.
Try this guide’s quiz →More words in this topic
23 wordsKeep listening with an APG video and a pronunciation tip for each word.
- align
Stress “line”; the “g” is silent.
- calf
The l is silent.
- chalk
The “l” does not add a sound.
- condemn
The final written “n” is silent.
- corps
The singular sounds like core.
- coup
The final “p” is silent.
- folk
Move from the long “o” directly to “k.”
- gnat
Say the initial “n” without “g.”
- gnaw
The opening “g” is silent.
- gnome
Start directly with “n.”
- hearth
HARTH: the vowel matches “heart.”
- isthmus
ISS-muhs: leave out the th sound.
- knowledge
Begin with “n,” without a “k.”
- reign
It sounds like “rain.”
- segue
SEG-way: the ending sounds like “way.”
- solder
In American English, solder has a silent l.
- tomb
The final “b” is silent.
- upholstery
uh-POHL-ster-ee: stress the long o.
- walk
Leave out the written “l.”
- womb
Finish with “m,” without “b.”
- would
Use the vowel in “wood.”
- wreath
Begin with “r” and end with unvoiced “th.”
- yolk
The l is silent.
Sources & classroom use
Each listening tip follows the IPA shown beside its word. Other dictionary pronunciations appear on the word page; individual speakers may vary.
Practice phrases were written for these exercises; quoted book passages remain in the separate, sourced book sections. These guides and practice notes are available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Credit American Pronunciation Guide and retain the linked dictionary attributions. Videos and other reference material keep their own terms.
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