Silent e words list
Printable list of silent e words · 2 pages
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In a silent e word, a final e makes no sound of its own but tells the vowel before it to say its name. Cap becomes cape, kit becomes kite, hop becomes hope, cub becomes cube. Teachers call it magic e, bossy e or the vowel-consonant-e (VCe or CVCe) pattern.
This list gives about 90 silent e words in four groups: a_e, i_e, o_e and u_e. Note that u_e has two sounds, /yoo/ as in cube and /oo/ as in rule. We left out common words that look like silent e words but aren't read that way, such as have, give, love, come and done; they're taught as exceptions.
E_e (these, theme) is the rarest silent e spelling, so we left it out of this beginner list.
Tips for using it
- Show the e's job with pairs: write cap, read it, add an e, read cape. The add-a-silent-e worksheet does exactly this.
- Have your child scoop under the vowel and the e with one finger to connect them.
Variations
All word lists for kidsQuestions
What is a silent e word?
A word ending in vowel, consonant, e, where the e is silent and the first vowel is long: make, time, note, cute.
Why don't have and give follow the rule?
English words almost never end in v, so an e was added after v whether or not the vowel is long. Have, give and live are common exceptions.