Phonemes may be represented by one, two, or three letters. Here are the different types of consonant graphemes:
| Type of Grapheme | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| single letter | A single consonant letter that represents a single consonant phoneme. | b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, y, z |
| doublet | A double letter that represents one phoneme. | ff (sniff), ll (smell), ss (moss), zz (buzz) |
| digraph | A two-letter combination that stands for a single phoneme in which neither letter represents its usual sound. |
th (thank), sh (shake), ch (church), wh (white) ph (phone), -ng (sing) gh (cough) -ck (it represents /k/ after a short vowel, ex: chick) |
| trigraph | A three-letter combination that represents one phoneme. | -tch (crutch) -dge (judge) |
| consonants in blends | A blend is not one sound but rather two or three adjacent consonants before or after a vowel in a syllable. |
s-c-r (scrap) th-r (three) c-l (clear) f-t (shift) l-k (silk) s-t (moist) |
| silent letter combinations | A letter combination where one or more letters is silent. | kn (knight), wr (wrote), gn (gnat), ps (psychiatrist), rh (rhyme), lm (calm), lk (talk), mn (column), st (listen) |
| odd letter x | The letter x is the only letter that stands for two phonemes: /k/ and /s/, and sometimes /g/ and /z/. |
/k/-/s/: box, exit /g/-/z/: exact, exist |
| combination qu | These two letters stand for two sounds: /k/ and /w/. These two letters always appear together in English and they do not represent one sound. | queen (/k/-/w/-/ē/-/n/) |
| doublets or floss rule | Doubled f, l, s, or z in one syllable words. | ff (buff), ll (bill), ss (boss), zz (buzz) |
This chart was created using the following sources:
Moats, L. C. (2020). The structure of English orthography. In Speech to print: Language essentials for teachers (2nd ed., pp. 92-102). CO: Brookes Publishing
Moats, L. C., & Tolman, C. A. (2005). Unit 3: Teaching beginning phonics, word recognition, and spelling. In LETRS(2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 170-180). Longmont, CO: Sopris West Educational Services.