Study CommonsRead · reason · practise

Home / English / Word Study / Silent Letters: kn, wr, mb and igh in Words Like Know and Light

Word Study · Spelling patterns

Silent Letters: kn, wr, mb and igh in Words Like Know and Light

Spell words with silent letters such as know, write, lamb and light. Learn where each silent letter usually hides, and spot the exceptions where it is said.

Grades 3–5 · 15 practice questions · Original material
Learning objectiveSpell and read words with the silent-letter patterns kn, wr, mb and igh, say where in a word each pattern usually appears, recognise a few common words with a silent t or h, and explain why a letter that is silent in one word (such as b in lamb) can be said in another (such as b in number).

The idea

Some English words have letters you write but do not say. In know, the k is silent. In write, the w is silent. These are called silent letters. They are not mistakes: long ago, English speakers did say many of these sounds, such as the k in knee. Over hundreds of years the way people spoke changed, but the spelling mostly stayed the same.

Silent letters are easier to spell when you know where they usually hide. A silent k comes before n at the start of a word: knee, knock, knife, know. A silent w comes before r at the start of a word: write, wrist, wrong, wrap. A silent b comes after m at the end of a word: lamb, thumb, climb, comb.

The letters igh make the long i sound, as in light, night and high. Here the gh is silent. Words in the same family share the pattern, so if you can spell light, you can also spell bright, fight, might and right.

A few common words have a silent t or a silent h. You do not say the t in listen or castle, and many people do not say the t in often. You do not say the h in hour or honest, so we write an hour and an honest answer, with an instead of a.

Be careful: the same letter is not silent everywhere. The b in number and member is said, because the m and b are in the middle of the word, not at the end. The gh in ghost is said like g, and the gh in laugh and enough sounds like f. The h in house and happy is said. When you are not sure, say the word slowly and check a dictionary.

Word bank

knee

noun · NEE

silent k before n; the joint in the middle of your leg

Example: I scraped my knee on the playground.

knock

verb · NOK

silent k before n; to hit a door with your knuckles so people know you are there

Example: Please knock before you come in.

knife

noun · NYF

silent k before n; a tool with a sharp edge for cutting

Example: Ask an adult to use the sharp knife.

know

verb · NOH

silent k before n; to have information in your mind. It sounds the same as no.

Example: Do you know the answer?

write

verb · RYT

silent w before r; to put words on paper or a screen. It sounds the same as right.

Example: Write your name at the top of the page.

wrist

noun · RIST

silent w before r; the joint between your hand and your arm

Example: She wears a watch on her left wrist.

wrong

adjective · RONG

silent w before r; not correct

Example: I took a wrong turn and had to go back.

wrap

verb · RAP

silent w before r; to cover something with paper or cloth

Example: We will wrap the gift tonight.

lamb

noun · LAM

silent b after m at the end; a young sheep

Example: The lamb stayed close to its mother.

thumb

noun · THUM

silent b after m at the end; the short, thick finger on the side of your hand

Example: Give me a thumbs-up when you are ready.

climb

verb · KLYM

silent b after m at the end; to go up using your hands and feet

Example: We climb the hill to see the lake.

comb

noun · KOHM

silent b after m at the end; a strip with thin teeth for tidying hair

Example: Use a comb before your school photo.

light

noun · LYT

igh makes the long i sound and the gh is silent; brightness that lets you see

Example: Turn on the light so we can read.

night

noun · NYT

igh pattern with silent gh; the dark time between evening and morning

Example: The stars were bright last night.

high

adjective · HY

igh pattern with silent gh; far above the ground

Example: The kite flew high over the park.

listen

verb · LIS-en

silent t; to pay attention to sounds or words

Example: Listen carefully to the instructions.

castle

noun · KAS-ul

silent t; a large old building with thick walls and towers

Example: We built a sand castle at the beach.

hour

noun · OW-er

silent h at the start; sixty minutes. Because the word starts with a vowel sound, we say an hour.

Example: The movie is an hour long.

honest

adjective · ON-ist

silent h at the start; telling the truth

Example: Thank you for giving an honest answer.

number

noun · NUM-ber

exception to watch: here m and b are in the middle of the word, so the b IS said

Example: Pick a number from one to ten.

Worked examples

Example 1 · Where does the silent letter hide?

Spell the word that means the joint between your hand and your arm. It sounds like RIST.

  1. The word starts with an r sound.
  2. Some words that start with an r sound are spelled wr: write, wrong, wrap. Body words such as wrist are a common example.
  3. Try wr + ist and check it in a dictionary.

wrist

Example 2 · End of the word

Add the missing letter: clim_ (to go up a ladder).

  1. The word ends with an m sound.
  2. A silent b often comes after m at the end of a word: lamb, thumb, comb.
  3. Add b at the end.

climb

Example 3 · Use a word family

You can spell night. Spell the word that means shining strongly: BRYT.

  1. Night and BRYT both end with the long i sound and t.
  2. Night uses igh for that sound.
  3. Keep the pattern: br + igh + t.

bright

Example 4 · a or an?

Choose a or an: ___ hour, ___ house.

  1. Say each word aloud.
  2. Hour starts with a vowel sound because the h is silent, so it takes an.
  3. House starts with an h sound, so it takes a.

an hour, a house

Example 5 · Silent here, said there

Why do we say the b in number but not in thumb?

  1. Find where m and b sit in each word.
  2. In thumb, mb is at the end of the word, where the b is usually silent.
  3. In number, mb is in the middle and the b starts the next syllable: num-ber.

The b is usually silent only when mb ends the word. In number the b begins a new syllable, so it is said.

Common mistakes

Leaving out the silent letter: "nee", "rist", "thum".

Why this fails: A silent letter is still part of the spelling. Learn the pattern and where it sits: kn at the start, wr at the start, mb at the end.

Putting the silent letter in the wrong place: "nkee", "thubm".

Why this fails: The silent k always comes first, before n. The silent b always comes after m.

Thinking every b after m is silent: saying "num-er".

Why this fails: The b is usually silent only when mb is at the end of a word. In number and member, the b starts a new syllable and is said.

Thinking gh is always silent.

Why this fails: In igh words such as light it is silent, but in ghost it sounds like g, and in laugh and enough it sounds like f.

Writing "a hour" or "a honest friend".

Why this fails: Choose a or an by the first sound, not the first letter. Hour and honest start with a vowel sound, so we use an.

Foundation

Foundation practice

Find the silent letter and add missing letters.

Find it

1. Which letter is silent in knock?

Fill the gap

2. Add the missing silent letter: _rong (not correct).

Fill the gap

3. Add the missing silent letter: lam_ (a young sheep).

Choose

4. Which word has a silent w?

  1. window
  2. wrap
  3. swim
  4. flower
Choose

5. Which word has a silent b?

  1. number
  2. baby
  3. member
  4. thumb

Practice

Practice practice

Choose the correct spelling and use word families.

Spell it

6. Which spelling is correct for the joint in the middle of your leg?

  1. nee
  2. knee
  3. kne
  4. neek
Word family

7. You can spell light. How do you spell the word that rhymes with light and means to struggle against someone?

  1. fite
  2. fiet
  3. fight
  4. fyte
Choose

8. Which word has a silent t?

  1. listen
  2. little
  3. sister
  4. winter
a or an?

9. Which is correct?

  1. a hour
  2. an hour
  3. an house
  4. a honest answer
Fix it

10. Fix the spelling: "I hurt my rist when I tried to clim the rope."

Sound-alikes

11. Which pair of words sounds exactly the same because of a silent letter?

  1. knot and not
  2. lamb and lamp
  3. wrap and rip
  4. light and lift

Think

Think practice

Explain the pattern and its exceptions.

Explain

12. Climb ends with a silent b. Why do people say the b in timber, even though it also has m and b?

Sort it

13. In which group is the gh silent in every word?

  1. ghost, laugh, night
  2. enough, light, ghost
  3. light, high, bright
  4. laugh, enough, tough
Explain

14. Why does English keep silent letters such as the k in knee if nobody says them?

Build it

15. Write one sentence that uses a kn word, a wr word and an mb word correctly.

Answer key

  1. 1. k
    Knock is said NOK. The k before n at the start of the word is silent.
  2. 2. wrong
    A silent w comes before r at the start of the word: wrong.
  3. 3. lamb
    A silent b often comes after m at the end of a word: lamb, thumb, comb.
  4. 4. wrap
    In wrap, the w comes before r at the start and is not said. In window and swim you can hear the w, and in flower the w is part of the ow sound, which you also hear.
  5. 5. thumb
    Thumb ends in mb, and the b is silent. Number and member have mb in the middle, so the b is said. In baby, both b sounds are said.
  6. 6. knee
    Knee starts with a silent k before n and ends with ee. Nee leaves out the silent k, kne leaves out one e, and neek moves the k to the end.
  7. 7. fight
    Light and fight rhyme and share the igh pattern for the long i sound. Fite uses the i-e pattern, which works in kite but not in this word; fiet and fyte are not English spellings.
  8. 8. listen
    Listen is said LIS-en: the t is silent. In little, sister and winter you say the t.
  9. 9. an hour
    The h in hour is silent, so the word starts with a vowel sound and takes an. House starts with an h sound, so it takes a, not an; honest has a silent h, so it takes an, not a.
  10. 10. I hurt my wrist when I tried to climb the rope.
    Wrist needs the silent w before r, and climb needs the silent b after m at the end.
  11. 11. knot and not
    Knot and not are both said NOT: the k in knot is silent. Lamb and lamp differ in the last sound, wrap and rip have different vowel sounds, and light and lift have different vowels and endings.
  12. 12. In climb, mb is at the end of the word, so the b is silent. In timber, the b starts the next syllable (tim-ber), so it is said.
    This is the same rule as thumb and number: the b is usually silent only when mb ends the word.
  13. 13. light, high, bright
    In light, high and bright, igh makes the long i sound and the gh is silent. In ghost the gh is said like g, and in laugh, enough and tough it sounds like f, so every other group has at least one gh you can hear.
  14. 14. Long ago, people did say the k in words like knee. The way people spoke changed over hundreds of years, but the spelling mostly stayed the same.
    Silent letters are often clues to how a word was said in the past. Knowing the pattern helps you spell the word today.
  15. 15. Example: I know how to wrap a gift while my thumb holds the tape.
    Check each word: k before n at the start, w before r at the start, and b after m at the end.

Related practice

Homophones: There, Their, They'reCompound WordsAdding -ed and -ingEnglish hub