Understanding the Basics of Jolly Phonics
- June 1, 2023
- 12:01 am

Sonal Ravi Andrews
Founder, Director & Lead Teacher Trainer
Founder, Director & Lead Teacher Trainer
The first group of sounds includes the letters s, a, t, i, p, and n. The sound of “s” is similar to a snake hissing, like ‘ssss’. “A” sounds like ‘ah’, as in apple. “T” sounds like ‘tttt’, like the sound you make when tapping a drum. The sound of “i” is like ‘ih’ as in sit. “P” sounds like ‘ppppp’ like in the word ‘pop’. Finally, “n” makes the sound ‘nnnn’, a bit nasal like when plane goes ‘nnnnn’.
In the second group, we have ck, e, h, r, m, and d. “Ck” sounds like ‘ck’ as in ‘lock’. “E” sounds like ‘eh’ as in ‘pen’. “H” makes the sound ‘hhh’ as in ‘hat’. The sound of “r” is like ‘rrr’ as in ‘rat’. “M” sounds like ‘mmm’ like saying yummmmm’, and “d” makes the sound ‘dddd’ as in ‘dog’.
In the third group, we learn the sounds of g, o, u, l, f, and b. “G” sounds like ‘guh’ as in ‘goat’. “O” makes the sound ‘oh’ as in ‘orange’. The sound of “u” is ‘uh’ as in ‘umbrella’. “L” sounds like ‘lll’ as in ‘lamb’. “F” makes the sound ‘fff’ as in ‘fish’ and “b” sounds like ‘buh’ as in ‘bat’.
The fourth group introduces more complex sounds with ai, j, oa, ie, ee, and or. “Ai” makes a sound like ‘ay’ as in ‘rain’. “J” sounds like ‘juh’ as in ‘jug’. “Oa” sounds like ‘oh’ as in ‘goat’. The sound of “ie” is ‘ee’ as in ‘pie’. “Ee” also makes the sound ‘ee’ as in ‘see’, and “or” sounds like ‘or’ as in ‘fork’.
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The fifth group covers the sounds z, w, ng, v, oo, and OO. “Z” sounds like ‘zzz’ as in ‘zoo’. “W” makes the sound ‘wuh’ as in ‘wind’. “Ng” makes a ‘ng’ sound as in ‘sing’. “V” sounds like ‘vvv’ as in ‘vase’. “oo” and “OO” produce different sounds: “oo” as in ‘look’ and “OO” as in ‘moon’.
In the sixth group, we learn the sounds of y, x, ch, sh, th, and TH. “Y” sounds like ‘yuh’ as in ‘yellow’. “X” makes the ‘ks’ sound as in ‘box’. “Ch” makes a ‘ch’ sound as in ‘chip’. “Sh” sounds like ‘sh’ as in ‘shush’. “th” and “TH” also produce different sounds, “th” as in ‘this’ and “TH” as in ‘thing’.
The last group consists of the sounds qu, ou, oi, ue, er, and ar. “Qu” makes a ‘kw’ sound as in ‘queen’. “Ou” sounds like ‘ou’ as in ‘out’. “Oi” makes the sound ‘oi’ as in ‘coin’. “Ue” sounds like ‘yoo’ as in ‘cue’. “Er” sounds like ‘er’ as in ‘her’, and “ar” sounds like ‘ar’ as in ‘car’.
Learning the sounds in Jolly Phonics can be an exciting journey. Understanding the sounds of each letter and letter group helps children to read and spell words correctly. It is a beneficial and practical tool for early literacy development. So, enjoy the journey of learning with Jolly Phonics!