A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in spoken language. Phonemes are the individual sounds that we hear in words.
For example, the word cat contains three phonemes:
/c/ /a/ /t/
The word ship also contains three phonemes:
/sh/ /i/ /p/
Although sh contains two letters, it represents one phoneme.
Understanding phonemes is an important part of learning to read and spell because children need to hear and work with sounds before they can successfully connect them to letters.
On this page, you’ll find everything you need to know about phonemes, including phoneme examples, phonemes and graphemes, blending, segmenting and how to practise phoneme awareness at home.
What Is a Phoneme?
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a word.
When we speak, words are made up of individual sounds called phonemes.
For example:
dog
contains three phonemes:
/d/ /o/ /g/
fish
contains three phonemes:
/f/ /i/ /sh/
chip
contains three phonemes:
/ch/ /i/ /p/
Phonemes are about sounds, not letters.
This is an important distinction when children begin learning phonics.
How Many Phonemes Are in a Word?
The number of letters in a word is not always the same as the number of phonemes.
For example:
cat
has 3 letters and 3 phonemes:
c – a – t
ship
has 4 letters but 3 phonemes:
sh – i – p
night
has 5 letters but 3 phonemes:
n – igh – t
This is because sh and igh each represent one phoneme.
Phoneme Examples
Here are some examples of words and their phonemes:
| Word | Phonemes | Number of Phonemes |
|---|---|---|
| cat | /c/ /a/ /t/ | 3 |
| dog | /d/ /o/ /g/ | 3 |
| fish | /f/ /i/ /sh/ | 3 |
| ship | /sh/ /i/ /p/ | 3 |
| chip | /ch/ /i/ /p/ | 3 |
| rain | /r/ /ai/ /n/ | 3 |
| night | /n/ /igh/ /t/ | 3 |
| sheep | /sh/ /ee/ /p/ | 3 |
| train | /t/ /r/ /ai/ /n/ | 4 |
| splash | /s/ /p/ /l/ /a/ /sh/ | 5 |
Notice that letters and phonemes are not always the same.
Phonemes and Graphemes
Phonemes and graphemes are closely connected in phonics, but they are not the same thing.
A phoneme is a sound.
A grapheme is the letter or group of letters used to represent that sound.
For example:
/sh/ is the phoneme.
sh is the grapheme.
Another example:
/igh/ is the phoneme.
igh is the grapheme.
This relationship between sounds and letters is known as a grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC).
What Is a Grapheme?
A grapheme is a letter or group of letters that represents a phoneme.
A grapheme can contain:
- one letter
- two letters
- three letters
- or, in some cases, more letters
For example:
m → /m/
sh → /sh/
igh → /igh/
a-e → /ai/
This is why children need to learn both the sounds and the different ways those sounds can be represented in writing.
[Learn more about graphemes →]
Phonemes, Digraphs and Trigraphs
Phonemes are often represented by digraphs and trigraphs.
A digraph contains two letters representing one phoneme.
For example:
sh → /sh/
A trigraph contains three letters representing one phoneme.
For example:
igh → /igh/
A split digraph contains two letters representing one phoneme, with the letters separated.
For example:
a-e → /ai/ in make.
[Learn more about digraphs →]
[Learn more about trigraphs →]
[Learn more about split digraphs →]
Phoneme Awareness
Phoneme awareness is the ability to hear and work with individual phonemes in spoken words.
Children with strong phoneme awareness can:
- hear individual sounds
- identify sounds in words
- identify the first sound in a word
- identify the final sound in a word
- blend phonemes together
- segment words into phonemes
- manipulate sounds in words
Phoneme awareness is an important foundation for learning to read and spell.
Phoneme Blending
Blending involves putting individual phonemes together to make a word.
For example:
/c/ /a/ /t/
→ cat
Another example:
/sh/ /i/ /p/
→ ship
Children first develop oral blending skills and then apply blending when reading words containing graphemes.
How to Practise Blending
Say the phonemes separately:
/m/ /a/ /p/
Ask:
What word am I saying?
The child blends the sounds together:
map
As children become more confident, they can blend sounds represented by digraphs and trigraphs.
For example:
/sh/ /ee/ /p/
→ sheep
Phoneme Segmenting
Segmenting is the opposite of blending.
Instead of putting sounds together, children break a word into its individual phonemes.
For example:
cat
→ /c/ /a/ /t/
Another example:
ship
→ /sh/ /i/ /p/
Segmenting is particularly important for spelling because children need to hear the sounds in a word before choosing the appropriate graphemes.
Blending and Segmenting
Blending and segmenting are closely connected.
Blending
/c/ /a/ /t/
→ cat
Segmenting
cat
→ /c/ /a/ /t/
Children need to develop both skills to become confident readers and spellers.
Phonemes in Words
Children should learn to listen carefully to the sounds within words.
For example:
cat
/c/ /a/ /t/
3 phonemes
shop
/sh/ /o/ /p/
3 phonemes
rain
/r/ /ai/ /n/
3 phonemes
night
/n/ /igh/ /t/
3 phonemes
frog
/f/ /r/ /o/ /g/
4 phonemes
splash
/s/ /p/ /l/ /a/ /sh/
5 phonemes
Initial, Medial and Final Phonemes
Children can also learn to identify where a phoneme occurs in a word.
Initial Phoneme
The initial phoneme is the first sound.
In:
sun
the initial phoneme is:
/s/
Medial Phoneme
The medial phoneme is a sound in the middle of a word.
In:
cat
the medial phoneme is:
/a/
Final Phoneme
The final phoneme is the last sound.
In:
dog
the final phoneme is:
/g/
These skills help children develop their ability to segment words for spelling.
How to Teach Phonemes
Phoneme teaching should be clear, systematic and focused on listening to sounds.
Step 1: Listen to the Sound
Say a phoneme clearly.
For example:
/m/
Ask children to listen carefully.
Step 2: Identify the Sound
Ask children to identify the sound in different words.
For example:
Can you hear /m/ in moon?
Step 3: Identify the Position
Ask whether the sound comes at the beginning, middle or end of the word.
For example:
map
/m/ is at the beginning.
Step 4: Blend Phonemes
Say:
/m/ /a/ /p/
Ask children to blend the sounds:
map
Step 5: Segment Phonemes
Say:
map
Ask:
What sounds can you hear?
The child identifies:
/m/ /a/ /p/
Step 6: Connect Sounds to Graphemes
Once children can hear and identify phonemes, connect them to their written representations.
For example:
/m/ → m
/sh/ → sh
/igh/ → igh
Phoneme Activities for Children
You can practise phoneme awareness through simple games and activities.
Sound Hunt
Choose a phoneme and look for objects that begin with that sound.
For example:
/s/
sock
sun
sand
What’s the First Sound?
Say a word and ask:
What sound can you hear at the beginning?
For example:
sun → /s/
What’s the Last Sound?
Say a word and ask:
What sound can you hear at the end?
For example:
cat → /t/
Sound Counting
Say a word and ask children to count the phonemes.
For example:
ship
/sh/ /i/ /p/
→ 3 phonemes
Oral Blending
Say:
/c/ /a/ /t/
Ask children to blend the sounds.
Oral Segmenting
Say:
dog
Ask children to identify the individual sounds.
Phonemes and Spelling
Phoneme awareness is particularly important for spelling.
When children spell a word, they need to:
- Say the word.
- Identify the phonemes.
- Choose the grapheme for each phoneme.
- Write the word.
For example:
ship
→ /sh/ /i/ /p/
→ sh – i – p
Children gradually develop their ability to choose the correct graphemes as they learn more grapheme-phoneme correspondences.
Phonemes and Reading
Phonemes are also essential for reading.
When children encounter an unfamiliar word, they can identify the graphemes, say the corresponding phonemes and blend them together.
For example:
sh – i – p
→ /sh/ /i/ /p/
→ ship
This process allows children to decode unfamiliar words.
How Many Phonemes Are There?
The exact number of phonemes in English can vary depending on the accent and the way sounds are analysed.
For early phonics teaching, children learn a set of common phonemes and the graphemes that represent them.
As children progress through phonics, they learn that the same phoneme can sometimes be represented in different ways.
For example, the /ai/ phoneme can be represented by:
- ai as in rain
- ay as in play
- a-e as in make
This is why children need to learn both phonemes and the different graphemes that can represent them.
Free Phoneme Resources
Ready to practise phonemes?
Explore our free printable phonics resources designed to help children develop phoneme awareness, blending, segmenting and sound recognition.
Phoneme Flashcards
Practise recognising phonemes and their corresponding graphemes.
[Explore Phoneme Flashcards →]
Phoneme Worksheets
Help children practise identifying, blending and segmenting phonemes.
[Explore Phoneme Worksheets →]
Phoneme Activities
Find simple activities for practising phoneme awareness at home or in the classroom.
[Explore Phoneme Activities →]
When Do Children Learn About Phonemes?
Phoneme awareness begins developing during Phase 1, when children listen to and explore sounds.
During Phase 2, children begin learning specific phonemes and the graphemes that represent them.
As children progress through Phases 3, 4, 5 and 6, they learn increasingly complex grapheme-phoneme correspondences and apply their knowledge to reading and spelling.
[Explore Phase 1 Phonics →]
[Explore Phase 2 Phonics →]
Phonemes FAQs
What is a phoneme?
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in spoken language. For example, cat contains three phonemes: /c/ /a/ /t/.
How many phonemes are in the word cat?
The word cat contains three phonemes: /c/ /a/ /t/.
How many phonemes are in ship?
Ship contains three phonemes: /sh/ /i/ /p/.
How many phonemes are in night?
Night contains three phonemes: /n/ /igh/ /t/.
What is the difference between a phoneme and a grapheme?
A phoneme is a sound, while a grapheme is the letter or group of letters used to represent that sound.
What is phoneme blending?
Phoneme blending involves putting individual sounds together to make a word.
For example:
/c/ /a/ /t/ → cat
What is phoneme segmenting?
Phoneme segmenting involves breaking a word into its individual sounds.
For example:
cat → /c/ /a/ /t/
Why are phonemes important for reading?
Children need to understand and manipulate sounds so they can connect phonemes to graphemes and blend them together when reading words.
Why are phonemes important for spelling?
Children need to hear the individual phonemes in a word so they can choose the appropriate graphemes when spelling.
What is phoneme awareness?
Phoneme awareness is the ability to hear and work with individual sounds in spoken words.
What is a phoneme-grapheme correspondence?
A grapheme-phoneme correspondence describes the relationship between a grapheme and the phoneme it represents.
For example:
sh → /sh/
Are phonemes the same as letters?
No. Phonemes are sounds, while letters are written symbols. One phoneme can sometimes be represented by more than one letter, such as sh.
Continue Learning Phonics
Understanding phonemes is one of the foundations of learning to read and spell.
Or continue exploring our phonics guides: