KS2 English Spelling Quiz: Phonemes and Graphemes Explained

English Quiz - Spelling: Phonemes (Questions)

Time for a KS2 English spelling quiz, focusing on phonemes! A phoneme is a single language sound. 'Cat' has three phonemes - 'c', 'a', and 't'. A grapheme is a letter or combo of letters that spells a phoneme. The 'c' sound in 'cat' can also be 'k' in 'kettle' or 'ck' in 'brick'. Learning phonics helps with spelling.

Play this quiz on phonemes and the one on graphemes for a complete understanding of the differences!

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Which of these words shares the 'b' sound heard in 'bird'?

[ ]	Land
[ ]	Comb
[ ]	Robber
[ ]	Crumb

Which one of these words shares the 'z' sound heard in 'zoo'?

[ ]	Please
[ ]	X-ray
[ ]	Silent
[ ]	Skewer

Which one of these words shares the 'f' sound heard in 'farm'?

[ ]	Of
[ ]	Plenty
[ ]	Pharmacy
[ ]	Oven

Which one of these words shares the 'j' sound heard in 'jelly'?

[ ]	Gum
[ ]	Fudge
[ ]	Greek
[ ]	Gammon

Which one of these words shares the 'w' sound heard in 'winter'?

[ ]	Saw
[ ]	Flew
[ ]	King
[ ]	Queen

Which one of these words shares the 'th' sound heard in 'bother'?

[ ]	Theory
[ ]	Weather
[ ]	Thankful
[ ]	Path

Which of these words shares the 's' sound heard in 'super'?

[ ]	Potion
[ ]	Share
[ ]	Mice
[ ]	Cries

Which of these words shares the 'i' sound heard in 'fin'?

[ ]	Final
[ ]	Fright
[ ]	Type
[ ]	Trip

Which of these words shares the 'ou' sound heard in 'mouse'?

[ ]	Enough
[ ]	Should
[ ]	Now
[ ]	Flow

10.

Which of these words shares the 'e' sound heard in 'he'?

[ ]	Elephant
[ ]	Easy
[ ]	Set
[ ]	Head

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Spelling

English Quiz - Spelling: Phonemes (Answers)

Which of these words shares the 'b' sound heard in 'bird'?

[ ]	Land
[ ]	Comb
[x]	Robber
[ ]	Crumb

Although you can see the letter 'b' in 'comb' and 'crumb', you can't hear it!

Which one of these words shares the 'z' sound heard in 'zoo'?

[x]	Please
[ ]	X-ray
[ ]	Silent
[ ]	Skewer

The word 'please' sounds as if it could be written 'pleeze'!

Which one of these words shares the 'f' sound heard in 'farm'?

[ ]	Of
[ ]	Plenty
[x]	Pharmacy
[ ]	Oven

'Ph' is pronounced 'f', as in 'phone'. The 'f' in 'of' makes a different sound. Say it carefully and you will hear a 'v' as in 'oven'.

Which one of these words shares the 'j' sound heard in 'jelly'?

[ ]	Gum
[x]	Fudge
[ ]	Greek
[ ]	Gammon

The correct answer sounds like fuj.

Which one of these words shares the 'w' sound heard in 'winter'?

[ ]	Saw
[ ]	Flew
[ ]	King
[x]	Queen

Although you can see the letter 'w' in 'saw' and 'flew', you do not hear it as a 'w' sound. Say the word 'queen' carefully and you will hear the 'w'.

Which one of these words shares the 'th' sound heard in 'bother'?

[ ]	Theory
[x]	Weather
[ ]	Thankful
[ ]	Path

In these words you can hear two different sounds that the grapheme 'th' can make, but you have to listen carefully. Other languages use different spellings to show the difference between the two sounds. In Welsh, the 'th' of 'path' is spelled 'th', while the 'th' sound heard in 'weather' is spelled with a 'dd'.

Which of these words shares the 's' sound heard in 'super'?

[ ]	Potion
[ ]	Share
[x]	Mice
[ ]	Cries

'Potion' and 'share' make a 'sh' sound, while the 's' in 'cries' makes a 'z' sound.

Which of these words shares the 'i' sound heard in 'fin'?

[ ]	Final
[ ]	Fright
[ ]	Type
[x]	Trip

The 'i' in final and fright sounds like the word 'eye'.

Which of these words shares the 'ou' sound heard in 'mouse'?

[ ]	Enough
[ ]	Should
[x]	Now
[ ]	Flow

The 'ou' spelling can represent many different phonemes - see the grapheme quiz for more practice.

10.

Which of these words shares the 'e' sound heard in 'he'?

[ ]	Elephant
[x]	Easy
[ ]	Set
[ ]	Head

The 's' in 'easy' has a 'z' sound.