The op word family: -op words list
Hop, 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.
Op family words list (25 words)
Tap a word to hear it.
CVC -op words
-op words with blends and digraphs
Longer words ending in -op
Op 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.
Op 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 op word family?
The op word family is the group of words that end in the rime -op, the short o sound followed by p, as in hop, mop, pop and top. Children read them by blending the first sound onto -op: h + op, hop. The family has many blend and digraph words, such as chop, drop, shop and stop, and longer compound words such as raindrop, laptop, treetop and lollipop.
- The rime -op is short o followed by /p/, as in top.
- In General American English, short o sounds like the a in father.
- Many longer -op words are compounds built on drop, top or shop: raindrop, laptop, workshop.
- Adding a silent e makes long o words: hop becomes hope and mop becomes mope.
About op family words
The -op rime is short o followed by /p/. In General American English, short o is an open ah sound, the same vowel as in father or the a in spa, made with the mouth wide and the tongue low. Children who hear British English on shows may know a rounder short o; both are correct, and the spelling does not change.
There are only five everyday three-letter -op words, so this family moves quickly to its second group. Chop and shop start with digraphs; crop, drop, flop, plop, prop, stop and clop start with blends. Stop is especially useful because children see it on signs, and plop and clop are fun sound words that make reading aloud more lively.
Most of the longer -op words are compounds: rain + drop, hill + top, work + shop. Covering one half and reading each part separately is the easiest way in. Lollipop is a treat to read because it has three syllables, lol-li-pop, and the -op at the end is the part children already know. Hop and hope, mop and mope show the silent e pattern once short o is secure.
Op family words in sentences
Decodable sentences: every word can be sounded out with the patterns on this page, plus a few very common words.
- Hop to the top of the hill.
- Stop at the shop!
- Mop up the drop on the rug.
- A frog can hop and plop.
- Chop the crop on the hilltop.
- Pop the lollipop in the bag.
- A raindrop fell on the laptop.
- The cat sat on the rooftop.
Common mix-ups with op family words
-op and -up (pop and pup)
Short o and short u are both open, relaxed sounds and are easy to confuse. Compare real pairs such as pop/pup and cop/cup, and let your child see that o opens the mouth wider.
Stop and spot
Stop and spot have the same letters in a different order. Blend left to right with a finger under each letter; if your child reads stop as spot, check the second letter together.
Hop and hope
A silent e turns short o into long o. Write hop, add an e and read hope. Removing and adding the e a few times helps children look to the end of the word.
Op family words activities
Hop along
Chalk -op words in squares on the ground. Your child hops from square to square, reading each word as they land. Hopping onto a square with a -up word means they must stop and check the vowel.
Stop sign reading
Make a red stop sign from card. Read a mixed list of -op and -ip words; your child holds up the stop sign each time they hear an -op word.
Drop in the bucket
Write -op words on bottle tops. Your child reads each one before dropping it into a bucket with a satisfying plop. Reread the whole bucket at the end.
Compound split
Write raindrop, treetop, laptop and workshop on strips and cut them between the two small words. Your child reads each half, then joins them and reads the compound word.
Op family words: frequently asked questions
What words are in the op word family?
The three-letter ones are cop, hop, mop, pop and top. With blends and digraphs you get chop, crop, drop, flop, plop, prop, shop, stop and clop, and longer words include lollipop, raindrop, hilltop, laptop and workshop.
How do you say short o in American English?
In General American English short o is an open ah, like the vowel in father. It is the sound in hop, top and stop.
Why does the op family have so few CVC words?
Only a handful of common three-letter words end in -op. The family is still large because so many useful words start with a blend or digraph, like stop, shop and drop.
What should come after the op family?
Other short o families such as -ot and -og, then short u families like -ug. Mixing -op with -up words is a good way to check the vowel.
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.
- Og family wordsDog, 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.
- Ip family wordsDip, hip, lip, sip, tip and zip all end in -ip, and so do ship, trip and spaceship. It is one of the biggest short i families. Hear the words and play the 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.