Tricky Words for Kindergarten: A List and How to Teach Them

A word is tricky when at least one part of it doesn’t match the sounds your child has learned. In was, the a says /o/ and the s says /z/. In the, the th is fine once taught, but the e doesn’t make its usual short sound.

Two points help a lot:

• Most tricky words are only tricky in one place. The rest of the word sounds out normally.
• Tricky is often temporary. My is tricky until your child learns that y can say /igh/. Day is tricky until they learn ay. As phonics knowledge grows, words stop being tricky.

That’s why we prefer “tricky words” over a long list of “sight words” to memorize. See phonics vs sight words for the full explanation.

Different schools use different lists, and if your child brings one home, follow it. If not, these sets are a sensible order. Teach the first set once your child knows their first few letter sounds and can blend simple words.

Set 1: I, the, to, no, go, into

Set 2: he, she, we, me, be, was

Set 3: you, they, my, all, are, her

Set 4: said, have, like, so, do, some

Set 5: come, were, there, little, one, what

Set 6: when, out, here, says, your, oh

Notice that words like and, it, can, big, up and get aren’t on the list. They’re fully decodable with early phonics, so your child can sound them out rather than memorize them.

This takes about three minutes per word.

1. Say it and use it. “Said. Mom said it’s time for lunch.”
2. Count the sounds. Say the word slowly and hold up a finger for each sound: /s/ /e/ /d/, three sounds.
3. Match sounds to letters. Write the word. Point to each part as you say its sound. “s says /s/, that’s regular. d says /d/, regular too. And here, ai is saying /e/. That’s the tricky part.”
4. Mark the tricky part. Draw a small heart above the ai. That’s the part we learn by heart.
5. Write it. Your child writes the word, saying the sounds as they go and drawing the heart.
6. Read it in a sentence. Write a short sentence using the word and words your child can decode: “Sam said no.“

Keep it to two or three new tricky words a week. Review old ones every day with a quick flick through.

• Tricky word hunt. Pick one word, like the, and hunt for it in a picture book. Count how many you find.
• Flashlight words. Stick tricky words around a dark room. Your child finds them with a flashlight and reads each one.
• Tricky word snap. Two copies of each word on cards. Play snap, reading the word as you slap.
• Write it three ways. Write the word in pencil, then in crayon, then in a tray of flour or sand.
• Sentence builder. Write tricky words and decodable words on separate cards and build silly sentences: the pig was in a hat.

• Teaching too many at once. A long list means none of them stick. Three a week is plenty.
• Treating every common word as tricky. If it can be sounded out, sound it out.
• Memorizing by shape. Always connect the letters to the sounds, even the odd ones. It’s how words get stored in long-term memory.
• Forgetting to review. Tricky words fade fast without regular practice.
• Using tricky-word practice instead of phonics. It’s a small side dish, not the main meal.

It varies. Some children pick up a tricky word after a few exposures; others need many. Regular review and seeing the words in real books make the biggest difference. Decodable books for beginners are written to include common tricky words alongside words children can sound out. See our list of the best phonics books for beginning readers.

If your child is finding phonics or tricky words very hard over a long period, talk to their teacher about how they’re doing in school.

These sets work well as a weekly focus with a “heart word” wall: add the week’s words with their tricky parts marked. Our tricky word bingo pack is built from the first three sets.

Reading a tricky word and spelling it are two different jobs, and spelling usually takes longer. A child might read said easily but write sed for months. That’s a sensible attempt: they’ve written the sounds they hear. Praise the regular parts they got right, then show the tricky part again: “You got the /s/ and the /d/. In this word, the middle sound is spelled ai.”

A few habits help tricky spellings stick:

• Say, cover, write, check. Look at the word and say its sounds, cover it, write it from memory, then uncover and check.
• Focus on the heart part. Ask your child to write just the tricky letters in a different color.
• Use the words in real writing. A shopping list, a birthday card or a note to grandma gives tricky words a reason to be spelled right.

Keep phonics at the center of spelling too. Our guide on how to teach phonics at home explains segmenting, and the reading routine for preschoolers shows how to fit short practice into the day.