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Silent letters

By Will SalisburyUpdated

Silent letters are letters that appear in the spelling of a word but are not pronounced, such as the k in knife, the b in comb and the w in write. Most come from older pronunciations, so they follow patterns you can learn, but a dictionary is always the final check.

1 · Read the problems2 · One lesson a day3 · Review your mistakes4 · Go round again

1 · Pronunciation

Hear it, see it, say it

IELTS tip. In the Speaking test, check the sound of a few important words from your topics, such as foreign, knowledge, answer and island, and say them aloud without the silent letters. In the Writing test, silent letters are a common source of spelling errors, so write a short list of the ones you often forget and check it before you finish an essay.

knife, write, comb, castle, Wednesday, hour, half, island, receipt, psychology, listen, climb

Quick answers

Why does English have silent letters?

Many were pronounced in the past, but speech changed while spelling stayed the same. Others came from the spelling of words borrowed from other languages.

What is the most common silent letter?

The final e is one of the most common silent letters, as in make and hope. Other very common ones are the k in kn- words, the w in wr- words, the b in -mb words and the h in hour and honest.

How can I know if a letter is silent?

Check the pronunciation in a dictionary. It shows the sounds between slashes, and a silent letter will not appear there. Learn the common patterns too.

Is the t in often silent?

Both pronunciations are used in British English: /ˈɒfn/ and /ˈɒftən/. Either is fine, so choose one and use it consistently.

Read the full lesson: Silent letters