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Today we are learning...

    • The letter Y has four main sounds.
  • The sound of Y will change depending on its position in a word.

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The Sounds of Y

Sound of Y

IPA

When does it make this sound?

Example words

Consonant

/j/

Y makes a consonant sound at the start of a syllable or word.

(Exceptions: Yves, Yvonne, Yggdrasil)

yellow, kayak, yes

Short I

/ɪ/

Y mostly makes a short I sound in the middle of a syllable.

gym, myth, crypt

Long I

/aɪ/

Y mostly makes a long I sound:

At the end of one-syllable words.

In words ending in –PLY or –FY.

In Y_E words.

In stressed open syllables.

cry, fly, apply, identify, multiply, byte, deny, hyphen

Long E

/iː/

Y mostly makes a long E sound at the end of two or more-syllable words.

baby, happy, rainy

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y

:

/j/

as in yellow

sounds like:

‘y’

Y makes the consonant sound at the beginning of a word or syllable.

frequency:

common

yellow yes yarn young

kayak

Consonant sound:

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:

/ɪ/

as in gym

sounds like:

‘i’

Y generally makes the short I sound in the middle of a syllable. Exceptions Y_E words: byte, type, Skype, hype, style.

frequency:

rare

gym symbol myth hymn

y

Short I sound:

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:

/aɪ/

as in fly

sounds like:

‘ie’

Y can make the long I sound: At the end of one syllable words, in words ending with -FY or –PLY, in Y_E words and in stressed open syllables.

frequency:

common

fly

cry

sky

try

identify

multiply

deny

hyphen

type

style

y

Long I sound:

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:

/iː/

as in baby

sounds like:

‘ee’

​

Y mostly makes a long E sound mostly at the end of two or more syllable words.

​

frequency:

very common

baby happy candy puppy

y

Long E sound:

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Exceptions

Word

Sound of Y

Notes

myrrh

/ɜː/

Very rare sound of Y in Modern English.

Yve

/iː/

French loan name. Y = long E at the start of the word.

martyr

/ɜː/

Very rare sound of Y in Modern English.

Yggdrasil

/ɪ/

Old Norse word. Y = short I sound at the start of a word.

Yvonne

/iː/

French loan name. Y = long E at the start of a word.

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Y makes the consonant sound at the start of a syllable or word.

​

yes

y

yet

ka-yak

y

y

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Y generally makes the short I sound in the middle of a syllable.

myth

y

gym

crypt

Exceptions Y_E words: byte, type, Skype, hype, style and lyre.

i

˘

i

˘

i

˘

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fly

y

sky

shy

The long I sound can also be found in:

  • Words ending in –FY or –PLY.
  • Y_E words like type and byte.
  • Unstressed open syllables like in the words hyphen and cycle.

​

​

Y mostly makes the long I sound at the end of one syllable words.

i

_

i

_

i

_

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Y mostly makes a long E sound at the end of two or more syllable words.

ba-by

y

po-ny

ē

ē

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

Subscribe to Mr Spelling.

yellow

:

/ˈjɛloʊ/

Sentence: The yellow flower is pretty.

Meaning: Having the color of sunshine.

Syllable(s): yell-ow 2

adjective

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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y e ll ow

:

/ˈjɛloʊ/

Sentence: The yellow flower is pretty.

Meaning: Having the color of sunshine.

Syllable(s): yell-ow 2

adjective

y

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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:

/jɑːrn/

Sentence: She bought red yarn for her sweater.

Meaning: Long threads of wool or cotton used for knitting.

Syllable(s): yarn 1

noun

yarn

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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:

/jɑːrn/

Sentence: He bought red yarn for his sweater.

Meaning: Long threads of wool or cotton used for knitting.

Syllable(s): yarn 1

noun

y ar n

y

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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:

/ˈkaɪæk/

Sentence: We paddled a kayak on the lake.

Meaning: A small boat used for paddling.

Syllable(s): kay-ak 2

noun, verb

kayak

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

I'm Mr Spelling! Not misspelling!

:

/ˈkaɪæk/

Sentence: We paddled a kayak on the lake.

Meaning: A small boat used for paddling.

Syllable(s): ka-yak 2

noun, verb

k a y a k

y

i

_

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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:

/dʒɪm/

Sentence: The bodybuilder works out at the gym.

Meaning: A place for exercise or sports.

Syllable(s): gym 1

noun

gym

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

Subscribe to Mr Spelling.

:

/dʒɪm/

Sentence: The bodybuilder works out at the gym.

Meaning: A place for exercise or sports.

Syllable(s): gym 1

noun

g y m

Soft

i

˘

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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:

/mɪθ/

Sentence: The story of Hercules is a Greek myth.

Meaning: A traditional story or legend.

Syllable(s): myth 1

noun

myth

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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:

/mɪθ/

Sentence: The story of Hercules is a Greek myth.

Meaning: A traditional story or legend.

Syllable(s): myth 1

noun

m y th

i

˘

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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:

/hɪm/

Sentence: The choir sang a beautiful hymn.

Meaning: A religious song.

Syllable(s): hymn 1

noun

hymn

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

I'm Mr Spelling! Not misspelling!

:

/hɪm/

Sentence: The choir sang a beautiful hymn.

Meaning: A religious song.

Syllable(s): hymn 1

noun

h y mn

i

˘

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

I teach spelling rules because spelling rules!

:

/ʃaɪ/

Sentence: The shy cat hid under the bed.

Meaning: Nervous or timid around others.

Syllable(s): shy 1

adjective

shy

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

I teach spelling rules because spelling rules!

:

/ʃaɪ/

Sentence: The shy cat hid under the bed.

Meaning: Nervous or timid around others.

Syllable(s): shy 1

adjective

sh y

i

_

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

Subscribe to Mr Spelling.

:

/flaɪ/

Sentence: The bird can fly high.

Meaning: To move through the air. A small insect.

Syllable(s): fly 1

noun, verb

fly

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

Subscribe to Mr Spelling.

:

/flaɪ/

Sentence: The bird can fly high.

Meaning: To move through the air. A small insect.

Syllable(s): fly 1

noun, verb

f l y

i

_

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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:

/spaɪ/

Sentence: The spy wore a disguise.

Meaning: A person who secretly gathers information.

Syllable(s): spy 1

noun, verb

spy

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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:

/spaɪ/

Sentence: The spy wore a disguise.

Meaning: A person who secretly gathers information.

Syllable(s): spy 1

noun, verb

s p y

i

_

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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:

/ˈhæpi/

Sentence: The baby felt happy on her birthday.

Meaning: Feeling good or joyful.

Syllable(s): happ-y 2

adjective

happy

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

I'm Mr Spelling! Not misspelling!

:

/ˈhæpi/

Sentence: The baby felt happy on her birthday.

Meaning: Feeling good or joyful.

Syllable(s): happ-y 2

adjective

h a pp y

ē

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

Subscribe to Mr Spelling.

:

/ˈleɪzi/

Sentence: The lazy dog slept all day.

Meaning: Not liking to work or be active.

Syllable(s): la-zy 2

adjective

lazy

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

Subscribe to Mr Spelling.

:

/ˈleɪzi/

Sentence: The lazy dog slept all day.

Meaning: Not liking to work or be active.

Syllable(s): la-zy 2

adjective

l a z y

ē

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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:

/ˈreɪni/

Sentence: It’s a rainy afternoon.

Meaning: Having a lot of rain.

Syllable(s): rain-y 2

adjective

rainy

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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:

/ˈreɪni/

Sentence: It’s a rainy afternoon.

Meaning: Having a lot of rain.

Syllable(s): rain-y 2

adjective

r ai n y

ē

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

Subscribe to Mr Spelling.

yellow

y e ll ow

:

/ˈjɛloʊ/

Sentence: The yellow flower is pretty.

Meaning: Having the color of sunshine.

Syllable(s): yell-ow 2

adjective

37 of 47

The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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yarn

y a r n

:

/jɑːrn/

Sentence: She bought red yarn for her sweater.

Meaning: Long threads of wool or cotton used for knitting.

Syllable(s): yarn 1

noun

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

I'm Mr Spelling! Not misspelling!

kayak

k a y a k

:

/ˈkaɪæk/

Sentence: We paddled a kayak on the lake.

Meaning: A small boat used for paddling.

Syllable(s): kay-ak 2

noun, verb

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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gym

g y m

:

/dʒɪm/

Sentence: He works out at the gym.

Meaning: A place for exercise or sports.

Syllable(s): gym 1

noun

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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myth

m y th

:

/mɪθ/

Sentence: The story of Hercules is a Greek myth.

Meaning: A traditional story or legend.

Syllable(s): myth 1

noun

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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hymn

h y mn

:

/hɪm/

Sentence: The choir sang a beautiful hymn.

Meaning: A religious song.

Syllable(s): hymn 1

noun

42 of 47

The four main sounds of the letter Y.

I teach spelling rules because spelling rules!

shy

sh y

:

/ʃaɪ/

Sentence: The shy cat hid under the bed.

Meaning: Nervous or timid around others.

Syllable(s): shy 1

adjective

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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fly

f l y

:

/flaɪ/

Sentence: The bird can fly high.

Meaning: To move through the air. A small insect.

Syllable(s): fly 1

noun, verb

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The four main sounds of the letter Y.

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spy

s p y

:

/spaɪ/

Sentence: The spy wore a disguise.

Meaning: A person who secretly gathers information.

Syllable(s): spy 1

noun, verb

45 of 47

The four main sounds of the letter Y.

I'm Mr Spelling! Not misspelling!

happy

h a pp y

:

/ˈhæpi/

Sentence: She felt happy on her birthday.

Meaning: Feeling good or joyful.

Syllable(s): happ-y 2

adjective

46 of 47

The four main sounds of the letter Y.

Subscribe to Mr Spelling.

lazy

l a z y

:

/ˈleɪzi/

Sentence: The lazy dog slept all day.

Meaning: Not liking to work or be active.

Syllable(s): la-zy 2

adjective

47 of 47

The four main sounds of the letter Y.

Download this PowerPoint from the video description.

rainy

r a i n y

:

/ˈreɪni/

Sentence: It’s a rainy afternoon.

Meaning: Having a lot of rain.

Syllable(s): rain-y 2

adjective