How to Say the Phonics Sounds Properly at Home
If you learned to read with letter names, the way sounds are said in a modern phonics lesson can feel odd. There is one rule that matters more than all the others. Say the sound cleanly, with no "uh" on the end: "mmm" rather than "muh", "sss" rather than "suh". That single habit is the difference between a child who can blend three sounds into a word and a child who ends up with something that does not sound like a word at all. Everything else on this page is detail.
Why the "uh" ruins it
Blending means running sounds together fast until they turn into a word. If every consonant carries a spare vowel, your child is not blending three sounds, they are blending five or six. "Muh-a-tuh" will not become mat however quickly it is said, and the child usually concludes that they are the problem.
Clean sounds are the standard guidance given to parents by Oxford Owl, which publishes the parent material for several school programmes. It is not fussiness. It is the mechanism.
A sound with a vowel stuck to the end of it is a different sound, and it will not blend.
Bouncy sounds and stretchy sounds
The most useful way to think about consonants at home is the one Essential Letters and Sounds gives parents. Some sounds bounce and some stretch.
| Type | Sounds | How to say it |
|---|---|---|
| Bouncy | b, d, g, k, p, t | Short and crisp, one quick tap, no trailing vowel |
| Stretchy | m, s, f, l, n, r, v, z | Held for as long as you have breath |
Bouncy sounds physically cannot be held, which is exactly why the "uh" sneaks in: we add a vowel so there is something to say. Make them as short as you can manage and accept that a tiny bit of sound is unavoidable. Stretchy sounds are a gift when your child is blending, because "mmmmm-aaaa-t" is still going when the next sound starts.
Six steps to getting your own sounds right
1. Test yourself out loud, once
Say b, d, g, p, t alone in the kitchen. If you hear "buh", "duh", "guh", you are in the same boat as most adults. This takes about a week to shift and it is worth the week.
2. Whisper the bouncy ones
Whispering strips out most of the added vowel. Whisper "t", then say it at normal volume and try to keep the same shape. It is a quick trick and it works on the whole bouncy set.
3. Stretch the stretchy ones deliberately
Hold m, s, f, l, n, r, v and z for two full seconds when you are practising. Exaggerating helps a child hear that these are single continuous sounds rather than a letter with a name.
4. Use sounds, not names, when reading
Letter names have their place and your child will learn them. At the point of reading a word, though, names are noise. Cat is c-a-t, never "see-ay-tee".
5. Let your child see your mouth
Sit facing them rather than side on when you are practising a sound. Many children work out the shape by copying a face, which is far easier than following an instruction about tongues and teeth.
6. Copy the school, not the internet
If your school sends home a sound mat, a video or a sheet of actions, use exactly that. Small differences in wording confuse children far more than they confuse adults, and consistency between home and class is worth more than any refinement.
The sounds adults most often get wrong
| Letter | Often said as | Aim for |
|---|---|---|
| m | muh | mmm, lips together, held |
| s | suh | sss, like a hiss |
| t | tuh | t, one quick tap |
| l | luh | lll, tongue up, held |
| r | ruh | rrr, growled, held |
| n | nuh | nnn, held through the nose |
| f | fuh | fff, teeth on lip, held |
| h | huh | a short breath out, almost nothing |
That last one catches everyone. The h sound is barely a sound at all, and adding a vowel to it is the most natural thing in the world.
Two letters, one sound
Once your child moves past single letters, they will meet spellings where two or three letters make one sound. Read Write Inc calls these special friends, and in Set 1 they are sh, th, ch, qu, ng and nk, plus ck. The name is a good one to borrow at home, because it tells the child exactly what to do: these letters are friends, so they stay together and make one sound.
The rule for saying them is the same. One sound, no "uh", and never spelled out as separate letters. Shop is sh-o-p, three sounds, not four. Chin is ch-i-n. If your child tries to sound the letters separately, cover the pair with your finger and say it as one, then uncover it.
Split digraphs and other awkward ones
By Read Write Inc Set 3, your child is meeting spellings like a-e, i-e, o-e and u-e, where the two letters making one sound have another letter sitting between them. Set 3 also includes ea, oi, aw, are, ur, er, ow as in brown, ai, oa, ew, ire, ear and ure.
These are worth saying slowly and clearly, because several of them sound similar to each other and the difference is the whole point. When your child hesitates on one, do not spell it out. Say the sound, let them carry on, and come back to it another day if it keeps happening.
It also helps to keep the language simple. Your child does not need to know the word digraph to read rain. They need to know that those two letters are working together and that the sound they make is one they already have. Pointing and saying is nearly always better than explaining, and it takes a tenth of the time.
Expect the same sound to turn up spelled several different ways over the year. That is the whole business of the later stages in every programme: not new sounds, but new ways of writing sounds your child already knows. When a familiar sound appears in an unfamiliar outfit, say it for them once and move on. The pattern settles through meeting it in real words rather than through being told the rule.
What if your accent is different?
Say the sounds the way you naturally say them. Children are extremely good at matching what they hear at school with what they hear at home, and an accent has never stopped anyone learning to read. Where a sound genuinely comes out differently in your accent, follow your school's material for the vowels and do not try to put on a voice. A confident adult saying a sound naturally is much easier to copy than an uncertain one performing a sound.
Actions, songs and what different schemes do
Programmes package this up differently, and it helps to know which one you are working with. Jolly Phonics teaches 42 sounds in seven groups, and every sound comes with an action and a song, which is why your child may do something with their hands when they read. Read Write Inc uses Fred, a toy frog who speaks only in sounds: Fred says c-a-t and the children say cat. Sounds-Write starts from the sounds themselves and asks how each one is written, so children there talk about sounds and spellings rather than letters.
None of these is more correct than another. What matters is that you say the sound the same way your child's teacher does. If you are not sure which programme is in use, our guides to the Jolly Phonics groups and Read Write Inc books at home will help you recognise the one in your book bag. You can also check the parent pages on Oxford Owl, which publishes material for several schemes.
When your child says a sound differently from you
Do not correct them mid word. Let them finish, then say the word back naturally in your reply: "Yes, a big red truck." Modelling works and correcting mostly just stops the reading.
If a particular sound is consistently coming out differently, note which one and mention it at pick up. Some of it is ordinary speech development and some of it is simply an unfamiliar sound, and neither of those is something to work out from a website. A teacher hearing your child read every week is the right person to judge it.
When to raise it with the teacher
- Your child cannot hear the difference between two sounds after several weeks of meeting them.
- A sound that used to be reliable has disappeared.
- Your child is spelling out letter names instead of saying sounds and cannot switch.
- You are not sure whether the way you are saying a sound matches the classroom.
That last one is the most useful question you can ask, and teachers are used to it. A two minute demonstration at the door saves months of quiet mismatch between home and school.
Where Lindo Phonics comes in
Clean sounds matter most when a child is reading something they can actually decode, because that is where blending gets practised rather than guessed. Our stories are matched to the published progression of your school's programme, so a story only uses sounds your child has already been taught, and your child's own name appears in it.
Lindo Phonics is not connected to Read Write Inc and is not endorsed by them. We match the published progression so a story only uses sounds your child has already been taught.
Common questions
What is the single most important thing about saying phonics sounds?
Say the sound with no "uh" on the end. "Mmm" rather than "muh" and "sss" rather than "suh" is the difference between sounds that blend into a word and sounds that do not.
What are bouncy and stretchy sounds?
Bouncy sounds, b, d, g, k, p and t, are said short and crisp. Stretchy sounds, m, s, f, l, n, r, v and z, are held. Stretching the stretchy ones makes blending much easier.
Should I teach letter names or letter sounds first?
Sounds are what a child uses to read a word, so at the point of reading use sounds only. Letter names get learned alongside, but they are noise in the middle of sounding out a word.
I say b as buh. How do I stop?
Whisper it. Whispering strips out most of the added vowel, so whisper the sound and then say it aloud keeping the same shape. A week of noticing is usually enough.
How do I say h without adding a vowel?
It is close to a short breath out and almost nothing else. Adding a vowel to it is the most natural mistake there is, so aim for less rather than more.
What are special friends?
It is the Read Write Inc name for two or three letters making one sound, such as sh, th, ch, qu, ng, nk and ck. The name tells the child what to do: the letters stay together and make one sound.
Is shop three sounds or four?
Three. The sh is one sound, so it is sh-o-p. If your child tries to split it, cover the two letters with your finger and say them as one.
Does my accent matter?
No. Say the sounds as you naturally say them. Children match what they hear at home with what they hear at school without any trouble, and an accent has never stopped anyone learning to read.
Should I correct my child when a sound comes out wrong?
Not in the middle of a word. Let them finish and then use the word back naturally in your reply, which models the sound without stopping the reading.
What is Fred Talk?
It is how Read Write Inc teaches blending. Fred is a toy frog who speaks only in sounds, so Fred says c-a-t and the children say cat.
Why does my child do actions when reading a sound?
That is characteristic of Jolly Phonics, which teaches 42 sounds in seven groups and gives every sound its own action and song. The actions fade as reading gets quicker.
What is a split digraph?
It is two letters making one sound with another letter sitting between them, such as a-e, i-e, o-e and u-e. Children meet them in Read Write Inc Set 3.
Should I use the same words the school uses?
Yes, wherever you can. Small differences in wording confuse children much more than they confuse adults, so copy the sound mat or video your school sends home.
When should I check with the teacher?
Any time you are unsure whether you are saying a sound the way the class does, or if a sound your child had is no longer reliable. A two minute demonstration at the door sorts it out.
Sounds your child has already been taught
Pick your school's programme and your child's stage, and we build a decodable story using only the sounds they have met so far, with their name in it.
Create a free story First book free. No card needed.