Digraphs for Kids: sh, ch, th, wh, ph, ck, ng Explained for Parents

A digraph is two letters that team up to make one brand-new sound — like sh in ship, which does not sound like s plus h — and teaching these letter teams explicitly is one of the biggest leaps your child will take from sounding out simple words to reading real books.

If your child can already sound out CVC words like cat and sit, digraphs are the natural next step. Without them, children hit a wall: they try to sound out sh-i-p letter by letter and end up confused, because the letter-by-letter sounds do not match the word they hear. Once a child learns that sh is a single unit that says /sh/, words like ship, fish, and wish suddenly become decodable. This guide covers the seven consonant digraphs parents should know, how to teach each one, the common confusions to watch for, and games that make the practice stick.

What makes two letters one sound?

A digraph (pronounced "DIE-graf") is a pair of letters that represents a single sound. The key word is single: the sound of the digraph is different from either letter on its own. Say /s/ and /h/ separately, then say /sh/ — they are clearly different sounds. That is what makes a digraph different from a blend, where you still hear both sounds, like st in stop or bl in blue.

This distinction matters because children who have just learned letter sounds will naturally try to sound out every letter. If nobody tells them that ch works as a team, they will say /k/ + /h/ and never arrive at chop. Teach each digraph as a unit from the start: point to the two letters together, say the sound once, and have your child repeat it. For the individual letter sounds behind this, see our consonant guide, which covers the building blocks digraphs are made from.

The 7 consonant digraphs every parent should know

These seven appear constantly in early books, so they give the biggest payoff for your teaching time. Learn them in this rough order: sh, ch, th, ck, then wh, ph, and ng.

Two quick notes before you start teaching. First, th actually makes two different sounds — the quiet one in thin and the buzzing one in this — and there is a simple trick for telling them apart below. Second, ck is the easiest win on the list: it always says /k/, it always comes right after a short vowel, and it never starts a word. Words like duck, back, and sock become readable almost immediately.

How to teach each digraph: one sound box at a time

Teach one digraph at a time and give it a few days of practice before adding the next. Here is a simple routine that works for each new letter team:

1. Introduce it as a team. Write sh on a card. Say, "These two letters are a team. Together they say /sh/." Have your child trace the two letters while saying the sound.
2. Sort the sounds. Say pairs of words aloud — sun/shut, sip/ship — and ask which one has the /sh/ sound. Listening comes before reading.
3. Read words in a list. Show 6–8 words with the new digraph, all built from sounds your child already knows: ship, shop, fish, wish, shut, brush. Ask your child to point to the digraph in each word before reading it.
4. Build and change words. Use letter tiles or magnetic letters. Build ship, then swap the sh team for ch to make chip. This shows the digraph is a movable unit, like a single letter.
5. Write from dictation. Say a word like fish and have your child write it. Remind them: "The /sh/ sound needs both letters — write the team."

A common mistake is drilling the letter names ("ess-aitch") instead of the sound (/sh/). For reading, the sound is what matters. Another mistake is mixing similar digraphs too early — teach sh until it is comfortable before introducing ch, since children often confuse the two.

The tricky one: voiced and voiceless th

Th is the only common digraph with two sounds, and it is worth five minutes of explicit teaching. The voiceless th is a quiet whisper: thin, think, bath, math. The voiced th buzzes, like a tiny motor: this, that, them, mother, with.

Here is the trick: have your child put their hand lightly on their throat while saying thin and then this. On this, they will feel a buzz — that is the voice box working, which is what "voiced" means. Make it a game: read a mixed list (think, that, bath, them, thin, this) and have your child hold up a "quiet" finger or a "buzzy" hand for each word. Most children get the hang of this quickly, and it is genuinely fun to feel the difference.

You do not need the words "voiced" and "voiceless" — "quiet th" and "buzzy th" work fine.

Common digraph confusions to watch for

One more thing to know: ph always says /f/, and it shows up mostly in longer words like phone, graph, and elephant. Children rarely confuse it, but they do need to be told the connection explicitly — otherwise ph looks like it should say /p/ + /h/.

Digraph games and practice activities

• Digraph detective. Give your child a magnifier (real or pretend) and a short passage. They circle or highlight every digraph they find, then read the words aloud.
• Team swap. With letter tiles, build shack. Swap the sh team for th, ch, wh — reading each new word. One tile move, four new words.
• Go Fish with a twist. Make card pairs like ship/chip, thin/tin, sing/sin. To claim a pair, your child must read both words and name the digraph.
• Sound box spelling. Draw one box per sound, not per letter: ship gets three boxes (sh-i-p), chick gets three (ch-i-ck). This cements the "two letters, one sound" idea.
• Real or silly? Read mixed lists — shop, shap, chin, chun, thin, thun — and have your child give a thumbs-up for real words and thumbs-down for silly ones. Nonsense words are great digraph practice because they cannot be guessed from memory.
• Digraph scavenger hunt. Walk through the house finding objects with digraphs: dish, brush, clock, fish (the cracker box counts), phone. Label what you find.

Where digraphs fit in the phonics sequence

Digraphs usually come after short vowels in CVC words are solid. If your child can blend cat, bed, and sun comfortably, they are ready for sh and ch. Trying to teach digraphs before blending is secure tends to overload children — there are too many new ideas at once. The vowel sounds your child already knows stay exactly the same; digraphs only change the consonant parts of words, which is why they slot in so neatly.

After the seven consonant digraphs, the next step is usually consonant blends (st, bl, cr) and then long-vowel patterns. A good phonics app for struggling readers will sequence these steps for you, and our best free phonics apps roundup includes options that teach digraphs with decodable practice rather than just flashcards. You can also compare parent-reviewed choices in our best phonics app reviews.

Frequently asked questions

What is a digraph in simple terms?

A digraph is two letters that work together to make one sound, such as sh in ship, ch in chop, or th in this. The sound of the pair is different from either letter alone.

What is the difference between a digraph and a blend?

In a digraph, two letters make one new sound (sh in ship). In a blend, you still hear both letter sounds pushed together (st in stop). Children read digraphs as a single unit and blends as two quick sounds.

Which digraphs should kids learn first?

Start with sh, ch, th, and ck, which appear most often in early books. Add wh, ph, and ng once the first four are comfortable.

How do I teach the difference between the two th sounds?

Have your child put a hand on their throat: the th in this buzzes (voiced), while the th in thin is quiet (voiceless). Call them "buzzy th" and "quiet th" and practice sorting words by feel.

When should my child learn digraphs?

Usually after short-vowel CVC words are solid — when your child can blend words like cat and sit without guessing. There is no single right age; readiness depends on the phonics sequence being taught.

Sources and further reading

For classroom-tested digraph activities and the idea of teaching letter teams as units, see Reading Rockets: Blending and Segmenting Games. For lesson sequences that place digraphs after CVC words, see the UFLI Foundations Toolbox; its materials accompany the program's lesson plans. The teaching routine, confusion table, and games in this guide are our editorial synthesis, not a reproduction of either program. This article offers educational information, not a diagnosis of reading difficulties.