Pronunciation · Word list
Words with silent letters
In short
Letters that are written and never spoken. Most were inserted by scholars imitating Latin and Greek long after the English pronunciation had settled, which is exactly why the patterns feel arbitrary. Several return in longer derived forms, which is what makes learners doubt the base word.
The pattern
Learn the pattern, not the word: -mb drops the b, -mn drops the n, -stle drops the t, ps- drops the p.
All 16 words
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- WednesdayWENZ-dayˈwenzdeɪ · 2 syllablesOften said as WED-nes-day — three syllables, sounding the d and the middle e
- subtleSUT-ulˈsʌtl · 2 syllablesOften said as SUB-tul — sounding the b
- receiptrih-SEETrɪˈsiːt · 2 syllablesOften said as rih-SEEPT — sounding the p
- salmonSAM-unˈsæmən · 2 syllablesOften said as SAL-mon — sounding the l
- islandEYE-lundˈaɪlənd · 2 syllablesOften said as IS-land — sounding the s
- debtDETdet · 1 syllableOften said as DEBT — sounding the b
- psychologysy-KOL-uh-jeesaɪˈkɒlədʒi · 4 syllablesOften said as puh-sy-KOL-uh-jee — sounding the p
- rhythmRITH-umˈrɪðəm · 2 syllablesOften said as RIT-hum or RY-thum — hardening the th, or sounding the h separately
- answerAHN-suhˈɑːnsə · 2 syllablesOften said as AN-swer — sounding the w
- muscleMUS-ulˈmʌsl · 2 syllablesOften said as MUS-kul — sounding the c
- castleKAH-sulˈkɑːsl · 2 syllablesOften said as KAS-tul — sounding the t
- plumberPLUM-uhˈplʌmə · 2 syllablesOften said as PLUM-ber — sounding the b
- queueKYOOkjuː · 1 syllableOften said as KWAY-oo or KYOO-ay — trying to sound the trailing vowels
- yachtYOTjɒt · 1 syllableOften said as YATCH-t or YA-cht — sounding the ch
- swordSORDsɔːd · 1 syllableOften said as SWORD — sounding the w
- columnKOL-umˈkɒləm · 2 syllablesOften said as KOL-umn — sounding the final n
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common words with silent letters in English?
This list covers 16: Wednesday, subtle, receipt, salmon, island, debt, psychology, rhythm, and more. Each has its own page with IPA, a syllable breakdown, audio in both accents, and a recording drill.
Is there a rule behind words with silent letters?
Learn the pattern, not the word: -mb drops the b, -mn drops the n, -stle drops the t, ps- drops the p.
Do I need to fix all of these for IELTS?
No. IELTS scores intelligibility, not word-perfect accuracy, and it accepts every standard accent. Fix the words you actually use, starting with the frequent ones: a mispronounced everyday word costs far more than a mispronounced rare one.
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