What are vowels? Short, long and vowel teams
What vowels are, short and long vowel sounds, the silent E rule, vowel teams and diphthongs, with easy word lists for kids and learners.
By Polarzinho ·
Vowels are the glue of every word. Try saying "bamboo" without them: "bmb". Not even I would eat that.
Here is what vowels are, how short and long vowel sounds work, the silent E rule, vowel teams and diphthongs, with easy word lists.
What are vowels?
The vowels are A, E, I, O and U. Sometimes Y works as a vowel too, as in "gym" and "sky". Every syllable has at least one vowel sound.
Short vowel words
- Short A: cat, hat, map, bag, jam
- Short E: bed, pen, red, net, leg
- Short I: sit, pig, fish, milk, lip
- Short O: hot, dog, box, pot, frog
- Short U: cup, sun, bus, duck, mud
Long vowel words
A long vowel "says its name".
- Long A: cake, rain, play, name, gate
- Long E: feet, tree, leaf, me, sea
- Long I: kite, pie, night, bike, time
- Long O: rope, boat, snow, home, toe
- Long U: cube, mule, cute, music, use
Vowel teams
A vowel team is two letters that make one vowel sound.
- ai: rain, train, paint
- ay: play, day, stay
- ee: tree, feet, green
- ea: leaf, team, beach
- oa: boat, coat, road
- ow: snow, grow, bowl
- ie: pie, tie, lie
- ue: blue, glue, true
Diphthongs
A diphthong is a vowel sound that glides from one sound to another in the same syllable.
- oi: coin, oil, point
- oy: boy, toy, joy
- ou: cloud, house, shout
- ow: cow, town, down
- au: haul, launch, sauce
- aw: saw, paw, draw
Practice by playing
In Letter River, you read a clue and drag across the letters on the board to spell the answer, great practice for vowel patterns.
PolarzinhoThe otter in Letter River knows every vowel team. I only know "oo", from bamboo.
And in Stop!, the quick category game, words with vowel teams are great for scoring unique answers.
PolarzinhoI wrote "bamboo" for every category. Two vowel teams in one word. I regret nothing.
FAQ
How many vowels are there in English?
Five letters, A, E, I, O and U, plus Y sometimes. They make many more vowel sounds than that.
What is the difference between a vowel team and a diphthong?
A vowel team is two letters for one sound (ee in tree). A diphthong is a sound that glides (oi in coin). Some pairs, like ow, can be either.
What is a long vowel?
A vowel that says its own name, like the A in cake.
Your turn
Sort these words: cat, cake, coin, rain, cup. Which are short, long, vowel teams or diphthongs?