Digraphs chart
A digraph is two letters that spell one sound, like sh in ship or ee in feet. You cannot hear the two letters separately, which is what makes a digraph different from a blend. This chart lists the consonant and vowel digraphs children learn first.
Free printable PDF, Kindergarten to 2nd grade.
One page, black and white, prints the same every time.
What is on the sheet
Consonant digraphs
| Digraph | Sound | Words |
|---|---|---|
| sh | the sound in ship | shell, fish, brush |
| ch | the sound in chin | chair, lunch, much |
| th | the quiet sound in thin | thumb, bath, three |
| th | the buzzing sound in this | that, them, mother |
| wh | the sound in whale | when, white, wheel |
| ph | f, as in phone | photo, graph, dolphin |
| ck | k, at the end of a short word | duck, sock, black |
| ng | the sound at the end of ring | song, king, long |
| kn | n, the k is silent | knee, knot, knife |
| wr | r, the w is silent | write, wrap, wrist |
Vowel digraphs
| Digraph | Sound | Words |
|---|---|---|
| ai, ay | long a | rain, paint, day |
| ee, ea | long e | feet, seed, team |
| oa, ow | long o | boat, road, snow |
| ie, igh | long i | pie, tie, night |
| oo | the sound in moon | food, spoon, zoo |
| oo | the sound in book | look, foot, wood |
| au, aw | the sound in saw | haul, paw, straw |
Digraphs and blends
In a blend you can still hear each letter: s and t in stop. In a digraph the two letters make a sound that neither makes alone, so sh in ship is one sound, not s and h. That is why a child reads a digraph as one chunk, and why digraph words have fewer sounds than letters: ship has four letters and three sounds.
The th row is there twice because th has two sounds. Hold a hand to your throat: it buzzes for this and that, and stays still for thin and bath.
Which grade learns which
Kindergarten and 1st grade learn the consonant digraphs sh, ch, th, wh and ck (CCSS RF.1.3a). The vowel digraphs that spell long sounds, ai, ee, oa and the rest, come in 1st grade (RF.1.3c), and 2nd grade adds more vowel teams (RF.2.3b).
Common questions
- Is igh a digraph?
- Strictly it is a trigraph, three letters for one sound, as in night. It sits in the long i row because children learn it with ie as a way to spell that sound.
- What is the difference between a digraph and a vowel team?
- Very little. A vowel team is two or more letters that spell one vowel sound, so the vowel digraphs on this chart are all vowel teams. Many programs use the two names for the same thing.