Study Zone Institute Teaching and learning made easy
Make study time fun with these trigraph word lists. Having all these words in one place that include a trigraph in them, makes learning to spell new words very engaging. It is important to learn how to spell words that have a grapheme as this is critical to being able to read fluently.
Our lists include everyday words for children to use when writing poems, short stories and taking notes in their journal. Children can create their own posters, flashcards, charts and projects that display these words to improve their spelling skills during study time.
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What is a trigraph and what it is not
A trigraph is a grapheme made by 3 letters that represent one sound. The term trigraph is used by many people for 3 letters with 3 sounds but these are really called blends. You must sound out a word very slowly in order to hear each sound.
The blends ‘spr’ and ‘scr’ are not trigraphs because they have three separate sounds as in /s/-/p/-/r/ in spread and /s/-/c/-/r/ in scream. The rimes ‘ain’ and ‘oat’ are also not trigraphs as they have two separate sounds as in /ai/-/n/ in rain and /oa/-/t/ in coat.
Trigraph word lists with 19 graphemes
Here are 19 trigraphs with word lists. These are air, are, ear, eau, eer, eir, eig, eou, dge, igh, iou, oar, oor, oul, our, ore, ure, tch and gue.
air
pair, hair, fair, chair, flair, stair, upstairs, downstairs, repair, fairy, air, lair
samurai, aisle, laird, dairy, unfair, airport, airline, despair, affair, impair, wheelchair
are
care, rare, dare, share, bare, mare, hare, ware, fare, glare, scare, flare, stare, snare, aware, prepare, welfare, careful, compare, unaware, spare, square, beware, declare, warfare, daycare, fanfare, farewell
scarecrow bareback, barefoot, carefree, careless, daredevil
dishware, glassware, cookware, tableware, software, hardware
ear
appear, bear, beard, dear, clear, fear, tear, gear, ear, hear, near, nearly, pear, rear, spear, swear, tear, wear, year
early, earn, earth, learn, pearl, search
heart
eau
beauty, beautify, beautiful, beautician, beau, bureau, bureaucrat, plateau, flambeau
eer
beer, deer, peer, steer, sheer, jeer, cheer, eerie, career, pioneer, engineer, domineer, reindeer, rocketeer, puppeteer, volunteer, racketeer, buccaneer
eir
their, weird, weirdo
eig
reign, foreign, feign, sovereign
eou
gorgeous, advantageous, outrageous, righteous, nauseous, courageous, dangerous
dge
edge, grudge, hedge, ledge, fudge, nudge, budge, judge, grudge, badge, wedge, ridge, lodge, dodge, smudge, sledge, fridge, pledge, bridge, porridge
igh
high, sigh, nigh, light, highlight, right, slight, night, might, fight, flight, fright, plight, sight, thigh, tight, alright, knight, bright, tonight, insight, highway, delight, upright, uptight
iou
gracious, ambitious, cautious, precious, anxious, luscious, spacious, vicious, suspicious, obnoxious, atrocious, religious, conscious, ambitious, ferocious, delicious, audacious, malicious, factious
oar
oar, boar, roar, outroar, board, hoard, soar, aboard, onboard, whiteboard, keyboard, motherboard, cupboard, cardboard, overboard, billboard, boarder
oor
door, floor, poor, moor, indoor, outdoor, doorway, doormat, moorings, flooring, doorbell, doorknob, doorstop
oul
could, would, should
our
four, fourth, fourteen, pour, tour, your, yourself, odour, court, course, recourse, source, mourn, gourmet, nourish, courier, flourish, resource, yourself
journey, journal, courteous, courtesy, scourge, adjourn, bourbon
tourist, tourism
glamour
British English: rumour, humour, tumour, honour, labour, colour, flavour, armour, savour, saviour, parlour, favour, harbour, vapour, armour, endevour, splendour
ore
bore, core, fore, gore, lore, more, pore, sore, tore, wore, swore, score, shore, spore, snore, swore, store, adore, chore, afore, encore, before, ashore, galore, ignore, implore, eyesore, deplore, onshore, offshore, seashore, explore, restore, anymore, boredom, folklore, moreover, evermore, sycamore
forehead, forearm, forehand, foreword, foretell, foretold, foresee, forecast, foremost, foreman, foregone, forerun
ure
cure, endure, mature, immature, secure, tenure, manure, nature, future, impure, purely, allure, fracture, vulture, denture, conjure, texture, torture, fixture, stature, nurture, pasture, procure, rapture, gesture, lecture, capture, culture, feature, picture, failure, venture, mixture, posture, gesture, venture, adventure, manicure, pedicure, armature, puncture, insecure, moisture, creature
sure, unsure, insure, ensure, assure, surely, unsure, surety, fissure, injure, figure, seizure, closure, measure, leisure, treasure, pressure, pleasure, brochure, exposure, composure
tch
itch, etch, catch, fetch, switch, notch, botch, hutch, itchy, butch, butcher, hitch, ditch, latch, hatch, witch, batch, patch, pitch, watch, match, glitch, stitch, snitch, scotch, switch, sketch, clutch, snatch, twitch, ketchup, scratch, kitchen, stretch, hatchet, pitcher, ditch, hutch, dispatch
gue
colleague, fatigue, league, vague, vogue, dialogue, catalogue, monologue, analogue, pirogue, plague, morgue, sinologue, prologue
Conclusion
These word lists for 18 trigraphs are very useful for spelling exercises. Students can use them to create posters, flashcards, charts, poems, short stories and notes in a journal. Make study time fun with these words and master spelling and reading quickly.
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When you buy something through our retail links, we may earn commission and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
- Why hair care matters now: Hair today, shine tomorrow
- What to wear to an interview: Get the job you want!
- Save money now, thank yourself later: Why saving young makes all the difference
- Ready to move out of your parents’ house? Let’s calculate the costs
- Cracking the college cost code: A guide to calculating your US education bill
See also:
Alphabet: 7 major things to know about letters and sounds
Trace alphabet: Download 27 free worksheets
Learn alphabet: Download 27 free worksheets to colour
Words -an ending: Download 6 free worksheets to trace
Words -at ending: Download 8 free worksheets to trace
Words -am ending: Download 5 free worksheets to trace
Two letter words: Download 5 free worksheets for tracing
Trace numbers: Download 32 free worksheets for practice
Learn numbers: Download 32 free worksheets to colour
Vowels – syllables, digraphs, trigraphs, long, short and silent
Consonants – digraphs, trigraphs, hard, soft, blends, silent sounds
Spelling rules for ch, tch, ck, k, oi, oy, ou, ow, ie, ei
Affixes – rules for adding prefixes and suffixes
Phonological and phonemic awareness: Help a struggling reader with sounds
When you buy something through our retail links, we may earn commission and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
- Why hair care matters now: Hair today, shine tomorrow
- What to wear to an interview: Get the job you want!
- Save money now, thank yourself later: Why saving young makes all the difference
- Ready to move out of your parents’ house? Let’s calculate the costs
- Cracking the college cost code: A guide to calculating your US education bill
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