Polar Games
Guide

Digraphs: words with CH, SH, TH, PH and WH

What a digraph is, with easy word lists for CH, SH, TH, PH and WH, plus words that start with H and the sneaky silent H.

By Polarzinho ·

Polarzinho making a shush gesture next to a giant H letter tile, with a nest of chicks, a golden key and a bee

Two letters, one sound. That is a digraph, and English is full of them. I learned this while trying to spell "bamboo shoots" and wondering why S and H teamed up.

Here are easy lists of words with CH, SH, TH, PH and WH, words that start with H, and the silent H that loves to trick spellers.

Play Letter River Play Stop!

What is a digraph?

A digraph is two letters that make one sound together. In "ship", S and H make the /sh/ sound. The most common consonant digraphs in English are CH, SH, TH, PH, WH and CK.

Words with CH

  • Chair, cheese, chicken, chin, chop
  • Lunch, beach, peach, bench, catch
  • Church, child, cherry, chess, kitchen

Words with SH

  • Ship, shoe, shell, shark, shop
  • Fish, dish, wish, brush, splash
  • Shadow, sheep, shine, cushion, bushes

Words with TH

  • Thumb, think, three, thick, thunder (TH without voice)
  • This, that, the, mother, feather (TH with voice)
  • Bath, math, tooth, path, north

Words with PH and WH

  • PH sounds like F: phone, photo, dolphin, elephant, alphabet, graph
  • WH: whale, wheel, white, whistle, whisper, what, when, where, why

Words that start with H, and the silent H

  • Easy H words: hat, house, horse, happy, hand, honey, hippo, helicopter
  • Silent H: hour, honest, honor, heir (said "air")
  • H silent inside a word: ghost, rhyme, rhino, school, white

Practice by playing

In Letter River, you read a clue and drag across the letters on the board to spell the answer: a sneaky way to practice spelling.

Letter River letter board next to the list of clues, with a river and mountains behind

PolarzinhoThe otter in Letter River never forgets the H in "ghost". I forget it every Halloween.

Letter River: the letter board and the clues beside it.

And in Stop!, a fast word game with categories, knowing your digraphs helps you find answers nobody else thought of.

Stop! home screen with the options to play with the crowd or create a room with friends

PolarzinhoI once spelled "elephant" with an F. The round did not go well.

Stop!: play with the crowd or create a room with friends.

FAQ

What are the 5 most common digraphs?

CH, SH, TH, PH and WH. CK, as in "duck", is another common one.

What is the difference between a digraph and a blend?

In a digraph, two letters make one new sound (SH in ship). In a blend, you still hear both letters (BL in blue).

Which words have a silent H?

Hour, honest, honor and heir have a silent H at the start. Ghost and rhyme have one inside.

Your turn

Try writing five words with SH without looking at the list. Then practice your spelling in the games below.

Play Letter River Play Stop!