Tricky Words and Exceptions

Words you cannot sound out

Most words you can sound out letter by letter, like c-a-t = cat 🐱. But some words are sneaky! They do not follow the rules. We call these tricky words.

You cannot sound them out. You learn them by heart, like a magic spell. 🪄

Meet the tricky words

Look at these words. Try to sound them out. They do not work!

• the — you say "thuh", not "t-h-e" 🐶
• said — you say "sed", not "say-id" 👋
• was — you say "woz", not "w-a-s" 🐘
• you — you say "yoo", not "y-o-u" 🧒
• are — you say "ar", not "a-r-e" 😀
• to — you say "too", not "t-o" 🛏️

These are some of the most common words in your books. So learning them helps a lot!

A word list to keep

Here is a list of tricky words to practise. Say each one out loud.

Tricky word	We say
the 🌞	"thuh"
said 🗣️	"sed"
was 💧	"woz"
you 🧒	"yoo"
are 😀	"ar"
to 🛏️	"too"
he 👦	"hee"
she 👧	"shee"

How to learn them

Tricky words like to hide in your books. Here is how to beat them:

1. Look at the word. 👀
2. Say the word out loud. 🗣️
3. Spot it in your story. 🔍
4. Read it again and again.

The more you see a tricky word, the easier it gets!

Spot the tricky word

Read this little sentence. Can you find the tricky words?

The dog was happy and said woof! 🐶

Did you find the, was and said? Well done!

Great job!

You can now read tricky words by heart. They are not so tricky anymore!

Next, try First Sight Words and Word Families.