1. Home
2. How to pronounce
3. Silent letters

Silent letters: How to Pronounce Them

Letters that are written but never spoken. Most are leftovers from older spellings or from Latin and Greek roots. Press play to hear each word, or open its page for British audio, syllables and meaning.

• aisle · EYEL · /aɪl/
  Rhymes with mile. The a and the s are both silent, so only the 'eye' sound and the final l are heard.
• island · EYE-lund · /ˈaɪlənd/
  The s is silent. Say 'eye' plus 'lund' and it rhymes with highland.
• debt · DET · /dɛt/
  The b is silent, so debt rhymes with net and wet.
• doubt · DOWT · /daʊt/
  Skip the b. Doubt rhymes with out and shout.
• subtle · SUHT-ul · /ˈsʌtəl/
  The b is silent. It sounds like 'suttle', rhyming with shuttle.
• plumber · PLUHM-er · /ˈplʌmɚ/
  The b after m is silent, so the middle sounds like 'plum', not 'plumb-ber'.
• tomb · TOOM · /tum/
  Silent b, and the vowel is a long 'oo', so it rhymes with room.
• almond · AH-mund · /ˈɑmənd/
  In American English the l is usually silent ('AH-mund'). Some speakers do say a light l, and both are accepted.
• calm · KAHM · /kɑm/
  Most speakers drop the l and say 'kahm'. A soft l is also heard in parts of the US.
• yolk · YOHK · /joʊk/
  The l is silent, so yolk sounds exactly like yoke.
• listen · LIS-un · /ˈlɪsən/
  The t is silent. Say 'LISS-un' with the stress on the first part.
• castle · KAS-ul · /ˈkæsəl/
  The t is silent. Americans say 'KASS-ul'; in Britain the first vowel is the long 'ah' of father.
• whistle · WIS-ul · /ˈwɪsəl/
  The t is silent and the h is usually not heard either, so it sounds like 'WISS-ul'.
• fasten · FAS-un · /ˈfæsən/
  The t is silent: 'FASS-un'. The same happens in hasten and glisten.
• autumn · AW-tum · /ˈɔtəm/
  The final n is silent, so the word ends on a plain 'm' sound: 'AW-tum'.
• column · KOL-um · /ˈkɑləm/
  The n at the end is silent. Say 'KOL-um', not 'KOL-yoom'.
• hymn · HIM · /hɪm/
  The n is silent, so hymn sounds exactly like him.
• solemn · SOL-um · /ˈsɑləm/
  Silent final n: 'SOL-um'. The n comes back in solemnity.
• condemn · kun-DEM · /kənˈdɛm/
  The n is silent at the end, so it rhymes with gem. You hear the n in condemnation.
• gnome · NOHM · /noʊm/
  The g is silent, so it sounds like 'nohm' and rhymes with home.
• foreign · FOR-un · /ˈfɔrən/
  The g is silent. Say 'FOR-un', with a short, quick second syllable.
• sovereign · SOV-run · /ˈsɑvrən/
  The g is silent. The word ends like 'rin', so it sounds like 'SOV-rin'.
• campaign · kam-PAYN · /kæmˈpeɪn/
  The g is silent and the ending rhymes with rain: 'kam-PAYN'.
• psychology · sy-KOL-uh-jee · /saɪˈkɑlədʒi/
  The p is silent. Start with a plain 's' sound: 'sy-KOL-uh-jee'.
• pneumonia · noo-MOH-nyuh · /nuˈmoʊnjə/
  The p is silent, so the word starts with an 'n' sound: 'noo-MOH-nyuh'.
• psalm · SAHM · /sɑm/
  Both the p and the l are silent. It sounds like 'sahm'.
• receipt · rih-SEET · /rɪˈsit/
  The p is silent. It ends like 'seat': 'rih-SEET'.
• sword · SORD · /sɔrd/
  The w is silent, so sword sounds like 'sord'.
• answer · AN-ser · /ˈænsɚ/
  The w is silent: 'AN-ser' in the US, 'AHN-suh' in Britain.
• honest · ON-ust · /ˈɑnəst/
  The h is silent, so it starts with a vowel: 'ON-ist'. That is why we say 'an honest mistake'.
• heir · AIR · /ɛr/
  The h is silent. Heir sounds exactly like air.
• knowledge · NOL-uj · /ˈnɑlədʒ/
  Silent k, and the first vowel is short: 'NOL-ij', not 'NOH-ledge'.
• wrestle · RES-ul · /ˈrɛsəl/
  Both the w and the t are silent: 'RESS-ul'.
• rhythm · RITH-um · /ˈrɪðəm/
  The h is silent and there is no vowel between th and m: 'RITH-um'.
• mortgage · MOR-guj · /ˈmɔrɡədʒ/
  The t is silent. Say 'MOR-gij', two syllables.
• handkerchief · HANG-ker-chif · /ˈhæŋkɚtʃɪf/
  The d is silent, so it starts like 'hank': 'HANG-ker-chif'.
• raspberry · RAZ-ber-ee · /ˈræzˌbɛri/
  The p is silent, so the start sounds like 'raz': 'RAZ-ber-ee'.
• cupboard · KUHB-erd · /ˈkʌbɚd/
  The p is silent and board shrinks to 'berd': 'KUB-erd'.
• muscle · MUHS-ul · /ˈmʌsəl/
  The c is silent. Muscle sounds exactly like mussel.
• scissors · SIZ-erz · /ˈsɪzɚz/
  The c is silent and both s's in the middle buzz like z: 'SIZ-erz'.
• indict · in-DYTE · /ˌɪnˈdaɪt/
  The c is silent and the ending rhymes with bite: 'in-DYTE'.
• yacht · YAHT · /jɑt/
  The ch is silent. Yacht rhymes with hot in American English: 'yot'.

More tricky word lists