Digraphs: what they are, and sh, ch and th words to teach your child

What is a digraph?

A digraph is two letters that spell one sound. In ship, the s and the h don't make their own sounds: together they make /sh/. So ship has four letters but only three sounds: /sh/ /i/ /p/. The word comes from Greek: di means two, and graph means writing.

Consonant digraphs are made of consonants: sh, ch, th, wh, ck, ng and ph. Vowel digraphs make a vowel sound, like ee in tree, ai in rain and oa in boat. Children usually learn consonant digraphs first, because the vowel in the word stays short, as in the CVC words they already read.

Digraph words list

Each row is one digraph, with words a beginner can sound out. Say the sound, not the letter names: sh is one quiet /sh/, not "ess, aitch". The quiet th in thin and the buzzy th in this are spelled the same, so th gets two rows.

Some digraphs come only in certain places. ck comes at the end of a short word, right after a short vowel (duck). ng comes at the end of a word or syllable (ring, song). wh comes at the start (when, which). Words with ph are usually longer, so leave them until later.

How to teach digraphs at home

1. Check that CVC words are easy. Your child should blend words like cat and sun without much effort before you add digraphs.
2. Show the pair. Write the digraph big and say: "These two letters are a team. Together they say /sh/." A hand action helps: a finger on your lips for sh, as in "shh".
3. Mark the sounds. Draw a dot under each single letter and a short line under the digraph. Each dot or line is one sound: ship gets one line and two dots.
4. Blend. Touch the line and the dots from left to right while your child says /sh/ /i/ /p/, then faster, until the sounds run together into ship.
5. Add one digraph at a time. Start with sh, then ch, then th. Move on when your child reads the first set easily, then mix the words so your child looks at both letters.

Which digraphs come first?

In Letters and Sounds, the phonics programme long used in English schools, children meet ck with their first letter sounds. Then ch, sh, th and ng come in Phase 3, usually in the first year of school, with the first vowel digraphs such as ee, ai and oa. wh and ph come later, in Phase 5. At home, start with sh: it's the easiest to hear, and you can hold the sound. Then add ch and th, then ng and ck.

Teach the two sounds of th together, but don't worry if your child mixes them up. Thin read with a buzzy th is still the right word. More topics are in the guides for parents.

Digraphs for children who speak Turkish, Arabic or Polish

Two letters for one sound is a new idea for some children. Turkish and Arabic spell almost every sound with one letter, so children who read those languages expect one letter, one sound. Polish already has digraphs (sz, cz, ch), but some read differently: Polish ch sounds like h, while English ch sounds like Polish cz. Many of the sounds themselves are familiar, as the table shows.

The gaps in the table are where children need help. Turkish and Polish speakers often say t, s or f for the th in thin, and d or z for the th in this. Many Arabic speakers say sh for ch, and many Turkish speakers say v for w. Polish-speaking children may read English w as v, because that's how w sounds in Polish. These are speaking habits, not reading mistakes: if your child reads the right word, praise the reading and practise the sound in a separate game.

Digraphs and blends: what's the difference?

In a blend, two letters sit together but you still hear both sounds: s and t in stop, f and r in frog, n and d in hand. In a digraph, the two letters make one new sound: the s and h in shop don't sound like s or h at all. A quick test: if you can hear both letters, it's a blend.

A trigraph is three letters that make one sound, like tch in match, igh in night and dge in bridge. Children meet trigraphs after the common digraphs.

Practice sentences with digraphs

Once your child reads single words, try short sentences. Small words like the, a, is and to are learned by sight: say them for your child if needed.

• The fish is in the dish.
• A thin moth is on the rock.
• Which duck can sing?
• Dad had fish and chips for lunch.
• Shut the shed and lock it.
• When can we go to the shop?

When these feel easy, your child is ready for vowel digraphs like ee in sheep and ai in rain, and for longer stories. Reading speed comes later; the reading fluency chart shows what to expect in each grade.

When your child gets stuck

• Reading each letter on its own (ship read as "s-h-ip"): cover the word, then uncover sh as a pair, and use the line under the digraph as a reminder.
• Mixing up ch and sh: practise pairs that differ only in the digraph: chip and ship, chop and shop, chin and shin, much and mush.
• Saying f or t for th: that's a speaking habit, not a reading mistake. Accept the word, then show the tongue between the teeth in a mirror, as a separate game.
• Getting tired or upset: stop and read to your child instead. Come back to it tomorrow.

Questions parents ask

Source

The teaching order follows Letters and Sounds, Phases 2, 3 and 5 (Department for Education, 2007): gov.uk/government/publications/letters-and-sounds.