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# phonics

noun (phonics — uncountable, used with a singular verb)

«phonics» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Phonics is a way of learning to read by matching letters and groups of letters to the sounds they make. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/phonics/#m1)
2. Phonics also means the lessons and books that teach this. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/phonics/#m2)

### In the lessons

In early school reading (especially UK, Australia and New Zealand), children learn phonics: «sh» says /sh/, «igh» says /eye/. They blend sounds to read words (c-a-t, cat) and segment words to spell them. The UK has a «phonics screening check» in Year 1. Phrases: «phonics lesson», «sound it out», «blend the sounds».

### Examples

- We have phonics every morning before break. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/phonics/#x1)
- In phonics we learned that «ai» and «ay» make the same sound. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/phonics/#x2)
- My little brother uses phonics to sound out new words. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/phonics/#x3)
- Phonics helps you read words you have never seen before. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/phonics/#x4)
- The teacher held up phonics cards with letters on them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/phonics/#x5)
- Not every word follows phonics rules, like «said» and «the». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/phonics/#x6)

### Note

Ends in -s but is singular: «Phonics is fun», not «are». Words that do not follow the rules are often called «tricky words» or «sight words». Phonics is about sounds, not about the meaning of words.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «phonics» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/phonics/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«phonics» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/phonics.html) on Mova free.