Silent and invisible letters in English

Silent letters constitute a notorious phenomenon in English: in wréstle, for example, only four out of the seven letters are actually sounded (*résl), and there can be strings of them in place names, exemplified by the trio Léicester, Glóucester and Worcester, pronounced Léster, *Glóster and *Wùster. (The accents show stress and pronunciation, see English phonemes; * is placed before an incorrect spelling.)

Silent letters can be misleading, as in Thaîland and îsland, which rhyme, or they can be easily to ignore, as in wróng, yeôman, and lôw. They can serve to distinguish between words that sound the same:

knôw knowledge = nô negative

knót tie = nót negative

wráp parcel = ráp knock, talk

wrîte read = rîght correct = rîte ritual

chéck verify = BrE chéque money

Typical silent letters are b finally after m or before final t (-mb -bt); g or k initially before n (gn-, kn-); gh finally or before final t ( -gh -ght); l after à and before final f or m (-lf -lm); n finally after m (-mn).

List of examples

Only J and Q are sounded in every word in which they occur.

Silent A is found in: hëard lëarn Múrray = Mòray nébulaê; British English words ending in -ary: sécondary díctionary; and all BrE examples from Latin of aê: nébulaê fŏrmulaê (where American English omits the 'a')

B: thúmb dúmb númb clîmb límb débt dòubt súbtle

C: indîct Tûcsón Connécticut blancmànge (*bləmónzh); after s before a front vowel: scêne scîence effervésce

CH: yàcht (*yót)

D before a soft g: dódge édgy lódging bádger brídge wédge; for most speakers in Wédnesday; and before a French j in Djiboûti Abidjàn

E: heàrt heàrth yeôman; final mute as in lâte kîte hôpe Jûne; in past tense ending as in loòked and both of these as in hoped; síngeing (*sínjing, from sínge)

F: hâlfpenny

G: sîgn desîgn dèign rèign monarch (= rain weather) campâign fóreign phlégm gnásh gnåw gnôme gnát gnàrled Colôgne

GH: sîgh rîght fíght fríght night fŏught ŏught cåught èight wèight

H: hônour hónest héir hòur vêhicle Jóhn Thaîland ghôst ghàstly and in the name-suffix -ham: Béckenham Chéltenham Twíckenham

I: sûit recrûit frûit jûice sluîce brûise crûise pláit friénd pàrliament cárriage márriage

K, initially, before n: knôw knêe knîght knít knâve knóll knót knîfe knêad massage; after c, as in báck

L: càlm bàlm psàlm càlf hàlf hàlve fôlk tålk wålk sálmon Líncoln hâlfpenny

M: mnemónic

N: cólumn condémn hýmn åutumn dámn sólemn

NC: blancmange (*bləmónzh)

O: pêople léopard jéopardy Géoffrey (= Jéffrey) and all BrE examples from Latin of oê: phoênix oênólogy foêtus (where AmE omits the 'o')

P: recêipt pneumátic pneumônia psàlm pseûd ptàrmigan pterodáctyl

R: all BrE only; a small selection: îron àrm àrt céntre mürder pãir mŏre dŏor desîre squãre hîre përson Thürsday

RPS cŏrps (r sounded in AmE)

S: chássis prècis Àrkansås Íllinois îsland îsle = aîsle rendezvous (*róndâyvoô)

T: lísten whístle wréstle càstle mústn’t bùffèt óften mŏrtgage bìdèt Màrgot wåltz (*wålce) bôatswain (can be written bôsun) Tchaikóvsky tsunàmi and before ch in words such as ítch cátch

U: bìscuit cïrcuit buíld buŏyant guíld guílt guîde guàrd guéss guést àunt

UE: tòngue burlésque grotésque vâgue rôgue barôque unìque plâgue

W: two 2 (= to preposition = toô many, also) who (*hû) whôle entire (= hôle space) swŏrd ànswer wrîte paper wróng wréstle awrŷ åwful bôatswain (can be written bôsun), and before a consonant in the next word: knòw nòw yew tree (= yoû me)

X: faux-pàs (*fô-pà) and French plurals of -au words cháteaux (*shátô) tábleaux (táblô)

Y: Pêpys Sándys (= Sánds = sánds)

Z: lâissèz-fãire rendezvous (*róndâyvoô)