Silent e words (magic e): lists by vowel
In 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.
Silent e words list (44 words)
Tap a word to hear it.
a_e words (long a, as in cake)
i_e words (long i, as in bike)
o_e words (long o, as in home)
u_e words (as in cute and rule)
e_e words (long e, as in these)
Silent e words game: listen and find
Hear a word from the list and pick it from four look-alike words. Eight rounds, about two minutes.
Silent e 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 silent e words?
Silent e words, also called magic e or split digraph words, end in a vowel, a consonant and a final e, such as cake, bike, home and cute. The final e is not pronounced, but it tells the reader that the earlier vowel is long and says its name: tap becomes tape, pin becomes pine. Children usually learn silent e after they can read short vowel CVC words, because the pattern works by contrast with them.
- The pattern is often written as a_e, i_e, o_e, u_e and e_e, where the gap stands for one consonant.
- Silent e turns a short vowel long: hop becomes hope, cub becomes cube.
- u_e has two sounds: /yoo/ as in cute and /oo/ as in rule.
- Common words such as have, give, come, some and love break the rule and are taught as exceptions.
About silent e words
A silent e word has a single vowel, then one consonant, then an e that is not pronounced. The e is doing a job even though it is quiet: it signals that the first vowel is long and says its letter name. Compare the pairs cap and cape, kit and kite, hop and hope, cub and cube. The only thing that changes is the final e, and the vowel sound changes with it. Teachers call this the magic e, the sneaky e or, in many phonics programmes, the split digraph, because a and e work together as one long vowel even though a consonant sits between them.
Most programmes teach a_e first, then i_e and o_e, then u_e. The e_e pattern comes last because it is rare in short words; these, theme and eve are the main ones, and most other e_e words, like complete and delete, have two syllables. The u_e pattern needs extra care because it makes two sounds. After most consonants it says /yoo/, as in cute, cube and mule. After r and l, and in many American words after t, d and n, it says /oo/, as in rule, flute, tube and tune.
Before starting, make sure your child can read short vowel words easily, because silent e only makes sense as a change from something familiar. Then watch for the exceptions. Some of the most common words in English end in a silent e but keep a short vowel or an unexpected sound: have, give, live, come, some, done, gone, one and love. These are best taught as sight words, with a note that the e is still there, rather than as proof that the rule does not work. For the regular words on this page, the rule holds every time.
Silent e words in sentences
Decodable sentences: every word can be sounded out with the patterns on this page, plus a few very common words.
- I like to ride my bike to the lake.
- The cute mule ate a pine cone.
- Jane made a cake at home.
- A snake is on the stone.
- Mike has five kites on a rope.
- The dog hid a bone in a hole.
- Use the tape to fix the flute.
- It is time to wave and go home.
Common mix-ups with silent e words
Reading the short vowel anyway (kite as kit)
The child sees the start of the word and reads it before reaching the e. Train the eyes to check the end first: before sounding out, ask whether there is an e on the end, and if there is, say the vowel's name.
Saying the e out loud (cake as cak-ee)
Some children sound out every letter, including the final e. Tell them the e is quiet: it sends its sound back to the vowel. Tapping the vowel and then tapping the e silently helps them feel that it is doing work without making noise.
Using the rule on exception words (come to rhyme with home)
Once children learn magic e, they may read come to rhyme with home, or give to rhyme with five. That means they have learned the rule well. Praise the attempt, then keep a small list of exception words and practise them separately.
Silent e words activities
Magic e wand
Write short words like cap, kit, hop and cub on cards, leaving space at the end. Your child reads the word, then places a card with a large e (or taps it with a pencil wand) and reads it again: cap, cape. Hearing both versions back to back makes the change obvious.
Short or long sort
Mix cards such as pin, pine, rob, robe, tub and tube. Your child reads each one and sorts it into a short vowel pile or a long vowel pile. The question to ask each time is: is there an e on the end?
Loop the team
On a printed list, have your child draw an arc joining the vowel and the silent e in each word: a and e in cake, i and e in bike. Tracing the link while saying the long vowel connects the hand, the eye and the sound.
Silent e word building
Using letter tiles, build a word like hop. Say the word, then add e and say the new word. Next, change the first letter: hope, rope, mope. Your child should say the vowel name each time before blending.
Silent e words: frequently asked questions
What is a silent e word?
A word that ends in a vowel, a consonant and an e that is not pronounced, such as cake, bike, home and cute. The e makes the first vowel long.
Why is it called magic e?
Because adding an e to the end of a word like cap or kit changes its sound to cape or kite, as if by magic. Some programmes call it a split digraph or the bossy e instead; they all mean the same pattern.
When should children learn silent e words?
Usually in kindergarten or first grade, after they can read short vowel words and some consonant blends. Silent e is often the first long vowel pattern taught.
Why doesn't silent e work in have, give and come?
English spelling has older rules layered on top of each other. One is that English words rarely end in v, so an e is added even when the vowel stays short, as in have and give. These words are taught as exceptions or sight words.
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 i wordsShort i is the sound in pig, sit and lip. After short a, it is usually the next vowel children learn to blend. Tap any word to hear it, read the sentences, and try the game below.
- Vowel teamsA vowel team is two or more letters that work together to spell one vowel sound, like ai in rain, ee in tree and igh in night. Hear every word, read the sentences, and try the game.
- R-controlled vowelsWhen a vowel is followed by r, the r changes the vowel's sound: cat becomes cart, fist becomes first. Hear the words for ar, or, er, ir and ur, read the sentences, and play the game.