What are digraphs and trigraphs?

Amelia Mehra

Mon, Jun 12, 23

1 minutes read

Graphemes can be made up of more than one letter. A digraph is a two-letter grapheme, a combination of two letters representing only one sound. For example, s and h together make up sh, a digraph of the /sh/ sound. A trigraph is a three-letter grapheme, a combination of three letters representing one sound, like igh in the word sigh.

- The word hop has three graphemes: h-o-p.
- The word shop also has three graphemes: sh-o-p -- the first grapheme is a digraph.
- The word feel also has three graphemes: f-ee-l -- the middle grapheme is a digraph.
- The word catch also has three graphemes: c-a-tch -- the last grapheme is a trigraph.
- The word night also has three graphemes: n-igh-t -- the middle grapheme is a trigraph

Deep Dive

Read our report on the Science of Reading. Research-based reading instruction must incorporate the 5 pillars of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This report provides an easy to understand overview of each of these pillars and explains the important connection between how the brain learns to read (the Neuroscience of Reading) and how we teach children to read (The Science of Reading Instruction). It also explains why helping children build connections between letters and sounds, through phonics and phonemic awareness, is so crucial for the developing reading mind. This report is perfect for sharing with colleagues and friends!