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Silent D words

D goes quiet in a few high-frequency words where it sits in an awkward consonant cluster, especially before N or S. Wednesday is said in two syllables, 'wenz-day', and handsome loses its D entirely. These are memorised exceptions rather than a productive rule, so learn them as a set.


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The words

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Scissors, muscle, science: the C is written but silent. Practise these tricky SC and CK spellings.
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Island, aisle, debris, Illinois: words hiding a silent S. Hear each one said the right way.
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Guess, guitar, tongue, biscuit: a U that only exists to protect the G. Practise these spellings.
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A silent final E that changes the vowel before it: hat to hate, kit to kite. Hear the difference.
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Light, laugh, ghost, high: GH is silent, F, or hard G. Hear which each word takes.
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Words where K is written but never spoken. Hear all ten silent-K words said aloud in your accent.
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Keep practising

Browse every practice list or the word index, hear two accents back to back on Compare, or test your ear with the listening quiz.

To read the rules behind these words, see the pronunciation guides — including silent letters, word stress and American vs British. Or hear each accent on its own page: American, British, Australian.