Full List of English Words That Start With Common Consonant Digraphs

English language is composed of many speech sounds. We are all familiar with the sound of vowels, consonants, etc. What happens when these consonants (or vowels) blend together? They form a new sound known as a consonant blend. Words that use 2 consonant sounds are called consonant digraphs. A good example would be, the sound of ‘st’ in study. Penlighten drafts out a list of English words starting with common consonant digraphs.

Most English consonant digraphs are formed by a consonant followed by h, simulated to the Latin digraphs ch, ph, th used to transcribe the Greek letters chi, phi, and theta.

Isn’t it interesting? For those who didn’t know, until now, a consonant is a letter which isn’t a vowel. It is a speech sound that combines with a vowel to form a syllable.

Digraph: A group of two successive letters representing a single sound, such as the sound of ‘ea’ in bread or beat.

Consonant blend: It is a blend or grouping of 2 or 3 consonants that produce a distinct consonant sound. For instance, the sound of ‘br’ in break (b and r are both consonants), the sound of ‘spr’ in spring (s, p, r are all consonants). Consonant blends are also known as consonant clusters.

Thus, a consonant digraph is made by two successive consonants that join to form a single sound. Some common consonant digraphs are ch-, sh-, sp-, ph-, wh-, etc.

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