Nonsense words for decoding practice
Nonsense words are made-up words like vap, mip and blom. Because a child has never seen them, the only way to read them is to sound them out. Hear every word, try the sentences, and play the game.
Nonsense words list (44 words)
Tap a word to hear it.
Made-up short a words
Made-up short e words
Made-up short i words
Made-up short o words
Made-up short u words
Made-up words with beginning blends
Made-up words with ending blends
Made-up words with digraphs
Nonsense words game: listen and find
Hear a word from the list and pick it from four look-alike words. Eight rounds, about two minutes.
Nonsense words spelling game: build the word
Hear a word and build it from letter tiles, one sound at a time. Letter pairs like sh or ck come as one tile, because they spell one sound. Six rounds.
Short answer
What are nonsense words in reading?
Nonsense words, also called pseudowords or made-up words, are pronounceable letter strings that follow English spelling patterns but have no meaning, such as vap, mip, blom or rilt. Schools use them because a child cannot recognise a made-up word from memory or guess it from context, so reading one correctly shows real decoding skill: turning letters into sounds and blending them. Nonsense word fluency tests measure how many of these sounds or words a child can read in a short time.
- Nonsense words follow real spelling patterns, so they can be sounded out even though they mean nothing.
- Reading them shows decoding, the skill children use to work out new real words on their own.
- Nonsense word fluency is a common early reading measure in kindergarten and first grade.
- Many children with reading difficulties find made-up words much harder than familiar real words.
About nonsense words
A nonsense word looks and sounds like it could be English, but it is not a real word. Every word on this page follows a pattern children already know from real words: vap works like map, frim like trim, jund like fund. The difference is that there is no memory to lean on. With a real word like cat, a child may simply recognise it; with vap, they have to look at each letter, say its sound and blend. That is why nonsense words are such a clean check of decoding.
Schools use nonsense words in early reading screenings, often under the name nonsense word fluency. A child is shown a list of made-up words and asked to read as many as they can in a short time, either sound by sound or as whole words. Reading them well shows that the child has the letter-sound knowledge and blending skill that research treats as the engine of independent reading: each time a child sounds out an unfamiliar word correctly, they get a chance to learn its spelling, so decoding lets children teach themselves new words. Nonsense word reading does not replace reading real books; it is a quick window into one skill.
Parents are sometimes surprised that a child who reads storybooks fluently struggles with made-up words. That usually means the child is relying on memory and context more than on sounding out, which can work for a while and then break down when texts get harder. Difficulty with made-up words is one of the signs often seen in children with dyslexia, which is why the free Dyslexia Steps test includes a made-up word game, Alien Words, where a child hears a made-up word and picks how it is spelled. Use the lists here for short, playful practice, and tell your child the words are silly on purpose.
Nonsense words in sentences
Decodable sentences: every word can be sounded out with the patterns on this page, plus a few very common words.
- A wug sat on a zog.
- The vap has a red hat.
- Can a gok swim in the pond?
- I had a blom and a frim.
- The zub ran to the mip.
- A fot is in the big box.
- The chot hid in the tent.
- Is that a vun or a rilt?
Common mix-ups with nonsense words
Turning the made-up word into a real one (vap as van)
Children who rely on memory change a nonsense word into the nearest real word. This is a useful sign that they are guessing. Tell them the word is meant to be silly, and ask them to touch each letter and say its sound before blending.
Reading only the first sound and guessing
Some children say the first letter and then invent an ending. Cover the word and reveal it one letter at a time, so they have to look at every letter in order.
Losing a sound in blend words (frim as fim)
Made-up words with blends are harder because the extra consonant is easy to drop. Count the sounds on your fingers first, then read, checking that the word has one sound for each finger.
Nonsense words activities
Alien names
Draw little aliens and tell your child they have made-up names from the list: Vop, Glek, Zub. Your child reads each name aloud to introduce the alien. Silly characters make it clear that the words are meant to be nonsense, which stops guessing.
Real or made-up
Mix real words (map, pig, frog) with nonsense words (vap, mip, frim) on cards. Your child reads each one and sorts it into a real pile and a made-up pile. They have to decode first, then decide.
Change one letter
Start with a real word and change one letter to make it nonsense: cat to caf, pig to pim, stop to stom. Your child reads each new word aloud. This shows that the same sounding-out works whether or not the word means something.
Nonsense word spelling
Say a made-up word slowly, like zog. Your child repeats it, taps out the sounds and writes a letter for each. Spelling a word they have never seen proves they can link each sound to a letter, not just recall a spelling.
Nonsense words: frequently asked questions
Why do schools use nonsense words?
Because a child cannot know a made-up word from memory, reading it correctly shows that they can decode: link letters to sounds and blend them. Real words can be recognised by sight, so they do not show this as clearly.
What is nonsense word fluency?
A short, timed early reading measure in which a child reads a list of made-up words, sound by sound or as whole words. It is common in kindergarten and first grade screenings.
Is practising nonsense words a good idea?
In small amounts, yes: it is a fun way to practise sounding out without guessing. It should not replace reading real words and books, and drilling only the test list is not the aim.
My child reads books well but struggles with nonsense words. Why?
They may be relying on memory and context more than on decoding. That can hide a weakness until texts get harder, so it is worth practising sounding out and, if you are concerned, doing a reading screening.
Practise next
- Short a wordsShort a is the sound in cat, map and bag, and it is usually the first vowel children blend. Hear every word, try the sentences, and play the game at the bottom.
- Short u wordsShort u is the sound in sun, bug and cup. It is a short, relaxed sound, and many of its words are easy to picture. Tap a word to hear it, read the sentences, and play the listening game.
- Consonant blendsA consonant blend is two consonants side by side where you still hear both sounds, like fr in frog and st in nest. Hear every word, read the sentences, and play the game.
- Silent e wordsIn silent e words, the e at the end makes no sound but changes the vowel before it: cap becomes cape, kit becomes kite. Hear every word, read the sentences, and play the game.