The og word family: -og words list
Dog, fog, hog, jog and log all end in -og, and so do frog and hedgehog. Hear every word in the family, read the sentences and play the listening game.
Og family words list (26 words)
Tap a word to hear it.
CVC -og words
-og words with blends
Longer words ending in -og
-og words with s
Og family words game: listen and find
Hear a word from the list and pick it from four look-alike words. Eight rounds, about two minutes.
Og family 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 is the og word family?
The og word family is the group of words that end in the rime -og, the short o sound followed by g, as in dog, fog, hog, jog and log. Children read them by blending the first sound onto -og: d + og, dog. The family includes blends such as clog, frog and smog and many animal compound words, such as bulldog, bullfrog, sheepdog, hedgehog and groundhog.
- The rime -og is short o followed by a hard /g/, as in dog.
- In many American accents the vowel in dog is slightly longer and rounder than in hot; the spelling is the same.
- Many longer -og words are animals: bulldog, bullfrog, hedgehog, groundhog, warthog.
- Catalog is the usual American spelling; catalogue is British.
About og family words
The -og rime is short o followed by a hard /g/. It has a small accent twist in American English: many speakers say dog with a slightly longer, rounder vowel than hot, and some do the same for log and fog, while others say them all alike. None of this changes the reading. The letter o between two consonants is short o, and children can read dog however it sounds at home.
Start with the seven three-letter words; dog and log are usually the best anchors because children know them well. The blends group adds two-letter starts that are both heard, such as fr in frog and sm in smog. Blog is a newer word that many children know from grown-ups; it is decodable in exactly the same way.
The longer words are mostly animal compounds, which children enjoy: bull + dog, bull + frog, hedge + hog, ground + hog. Reading them in two parts is an easy first taste of multisyllable words. The last group adds s, as in dogs and frogs, to show that the chunk stays the same when the word becomes a plural.
Og family words in sentences
Decodable sentences: every word can be sounded out with the patterns on this page, plus a few very common words.
- The dog sat on a log.
- A frog hid in the fog.
- The hog is in the bog.
- I jog with the dog.
- The bullfrog can leapfrog.
- A hedgehog is in the logs.
- Six dogs and six frogs!
- The groundhog sat in the sun.
Common mix-ups with og family words
Dog and dug, log and lug
Short o and short u are close. If your child reads log as lug, say both slowly and show that the jaw drops further for o. Pairs such as hog/hug and jog/jug help.
b and d in bog and dog
Bog and dog look similar and differ only in the first letter. Link each letter to its mouth movement rather than its shape: lips press together for b, the tongue taps behind the teeth for d.
g in -og words
The g at the end is always the hard g of go. If a child has just learned that g can say /j/ in gem, reassure them that in -og it never does.
Og family words activities
Leapfrog lily pads
Cut lily pads from green paper and write an -og word on each. Your child leaps from pad to pad, reading each word before jumping to the next.
Log pile
Write -og words on craft sticks or cardboard tubes. Your child reads each one and stacks it on the log pile. If the pile falls, reread the words as you rebuild it.
Foggy window
Breathe on a cold window or mirror, or use a steamy bathroom mirror, and write an -og word in the fog. Your child reads it, wipes it away, and writes the next one while saying the sounds.
Animal match
Put pictures of a dog, frog, hog, hedgehog and bullfrog on the table and the matching words on cards. Your child reads each card and places it under the right picture.
Og family words: frequently asked questions
What words are in the og word family?
The three-letter ones are bog, cog, dog, fog, hog, jog and log. With blends you get blog, clog, frog, slog and smog, and longer words include bulldog, bullfrog, leapfrog, sheepdog, hedgehog and groundhog.
Why does dog sound different from hot?
In many American accents the vowel before g, especially in dog, is a little longer and rounder. It varies by region and by speaker. The spelling and the phonics are the same: short o.
Is hot dog in the og family?
Yes, the dog part is. Hot dog is usually written as two words, so read each word separately: hot, dog.
What family pairs well with -og?
The -ug family: dog/dug, hog/hug, log/lug and jog/jug differ only by the vowel, which makes a mixed sort a good vowel check.
Practise next
- Ot family wordsCot, dot, hot, lot, not and pot all end in -ot, one of the biggest short o families. Hear every word, from spot and knot to robot and apricot, and play the game.
- Op family wordsHop, mop, pop and top are the first -op words, and stop, shop and lollipop follow. Hear every word in the family, read the sentences and play the game.
- Ug family wordsBug, hug, jug, mug and rug all end in -ug, and so do plug, snug and ladybug. Hear every word, read the sentences and play the listening game.
- Short o wordsShort o is the sound in hot, dog and mop. It is a clear, open sound that most children hear easily. Listen to each word, read the sentences, and play the game at the end.