Silent letters in English

Most silent letters were once pronounced. The k in knee was still said aloud in Middle English and was only lost around the seventeenth century, and the gh in night was a throaty sound English has since dropped. The pronunciation moved on; the spelling was frozen by printing. A few, such as the b in debt , were never pronounced at all — scholars inserted them to show a Latin origin.

Some words simply have to be learned. These are the ones that most often catch people out in speech, including confident speakers.

The r in car is silent in most British accents and pronounced in American English. The t in often is silent for many speakers and pronounced by others, both accepted. Use Compare to hear these side by side rather than trusting one dictionary entry.

Read slowly first. Pronounce each syllable deliberately before trying to blend them at full speed. Rushing hides the vowel and consonant shapes your ear needs to learn.

Record yourself. Most phones have a voice memo app — record a word, then compare it to the playback here. Hearing the gap between your version and the model accent makes targeted practice far easier.

Focus on one accent. Jumping between American, British and Australian in the same session creates confusion. Pick the accent you encounter most and stick with it until the patterns feel natural.

Every word above is a button. Set the accent and voice you want on the main screen, then come back — the guides use whatever you chose. To hear two accents against each other, use Compare; to test whether you can actually hear a contrast, use the listening quiz.