Digraphs and trigraphs

Sometimes two letters make one sound. This is a digraph: ⟦sh⟧ in ⟦ship⟧, ⟦ee⟧ in ⟦tree⟧. Three letters that make one sound are a trigraph: ⟦igh⟧ in ⟦night⟧. When you read, look for these letters together, and say one sound for them.

Key facts

  • Consonant digraphs: ⟦sh⟧ (⟦shop⟧), ⟦ch⟧ (⟦chip⟧), ⟦th⟧ (⟦thin⟧), ⟦ng⟧ (⟦ring⟧), ⟦ck⟧ (⟦duck⟧).
  • Vowel digraphs: ⟦ai⟧ (⟦rain⟧), ⟦ee⟧ (⟦feet⟧), ⟦oa⟧ (⟦boat⟧), ⟦oo⟧ (⟦moon⟧ and ⟦book⟧), ⟦ar⟧ (⟦car⟧), ⟦or⟧ (⟦fork⟧), ⟦ur⟧ (⟦turn⟧), ⟦ow⟧ (⟦cow⟧), ⟦oi⟧ (⟦coin⟧), ⟦er⟧ (⟦letter⟧).
  • Trigraphs: ⟦igh⟧ (⟦night⟧), ⟦ear⟧ (⟦hear⟧), ⟦air⟧ (⟦hair⟧), ⟦ure⟧ (⟦sure⟧).
  • Count sounds, not letters: ⟦ship⟧ has four letters but three sounds: ⟦sh-i-p⟧.
  • A digraph can change a word completely: ⟦ship⟧, ⟦chip⟧ and ⟦sip⟧ are different words.

Worked examples

Example 1

Which letters make one sound in ⟦fish⟧?

  1. Say it slowly: ⟦f-i-sh⟧.
  2. The last sound is written with two letters: ⟦sh⟧.

Answer: ⟦sh⟧

Example 2

How many sounds are in ⟦night⟧?

  1. ⟦igh⟧ is three letters for one sound.
  2. The sounds are ⟦n-igh-t⟧: 3 sounds, though the word has 5 letters.

Answer: 3

Example 3

Spell the word you hear: ⟦boat⟧.

  1. Split it into sounds: ⟦b⟧, ⟦oa⟧, ⟦t⟧.
  2. The middle sound is written ⟦oa⟧, as in ⟦goat⟧.
  3. ⟦boat⟧

Answer: ⟦boat⟧