# Silent letters

By [English Tips](https://paragraph.com/@english-tips) · 2022-08-02

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Many letters in written English are silent. ESL speakers often still pronounce them because they learnt that word from a book. The spelling of a word often interferes with how we hear it, too.

### Words with a silent “B”

*   [debt](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/debt) /dɛt/, [doubt](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/doubt) /daʊt/, [subtle](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/subtle) /ˈsʌt(ə)l/
    
*   [bomb](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bomb) /bɔm/, womb /wuːm/, tomb /tuːm/
    
*   **comb** /koʊm/, climb /klaɪm/
    
*   **lamb** /læm/
    
*   **thumb** /θʌm/, plumb, crumb etc
    

### Words with a silent “P”

*   **receipt** /rəˈsit/
    

### Words with a silent “L”

*   [palm](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/palm) /pɑm/, calm /kɑm/
    
*   [salmon](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/salmon) /ˈsæmən/
    
*   [folks](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/folks) /foʊks/
    
*   **half** /hæf/
    
*   **could** /kʊd/
    
*   **talk** /tɔk/, walk, chalk
    

### Words with a silent initial letter

*   **W**: who /huː/ – no W!
    
*   **W**: write, wrong, wrap, wreck, wrist – a W before R is never pronounced
    
*   **K**: knight, know, knock, knee, knuckle – a K before N is always silent
    
*   **G**: gnat, gnu, gnocchi – the same for G before N
    
*   **P, M**: psychology, mnemonic, pneumatic – an initial P and M in words of Ancient Greek origin are often silent
    
*   **H**: honest /ˈɑnɪst/, “H” /eɪtʃ/, honor – no H there!
    

### Always check the IPA

The English spelling often dates back to when the word was pronounced the way it’s written, but then the sounds has changed.

In many of the examples above, the silent letter was at some point pronounced, but it’s not anymore.

As a general tip, you should **always check the IPA** of any new word that you learn. It’s impossible to predict how the English language will trip you up even with simplest-looking words.

![https://twitter.com/filmeastereggs/status/1254274788672983041](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/01904a56b7bb24d3bbc6185c5881c7c60b8081da00660fff2506e6342061729a.gif)

https://twitter.com/filmeastereggs/status/1254274788672983041

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*Originally published on [English Tips](https://paragraph.com/@english-tips/silent-letters)*