5 letters · 3 sounds · updated 15 Aug 2026

How to pronounce
"night"

"night" is pronounced with 3 sounds across 3 phonics chunks: n · igh · t. Tap each box below to hear the sound, then blend them to read the word.

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What "night" means

The dark hours when the sun is down.

In a sentence: We saw three owls on the walk last night.

The tricky part

'igh' is three letters making one sound, /eye/. The 'gh' is silent — it was once a throaty sound English has since dropped.

'Light', 'right' and 'fight' all share the silent 'igh'.

Even though 'night' has 5 letters, it has only 3 sounds — the grapheme 'igh' — long I sound.

How do you pronounce "night"?

To pronounce "night" correctly, say each of the 3 sounds in order, then blend them smoothly. This technique — Elkonin sound boxes — is used in thousands of US classrooms following the Science of Reading approach. Here's the step-by-step phonics method:

  1. 1 Say the sound for "n" — then pause
  2. 2 Say the sound for "igh" — then pause
  3. 3 Say the sound for "t" — final sound
  4. ✓ Blend all 3 sounds together: "night"

Words that rhyme with "night"

despitebitelightcitetonightsitewhite

Frequently asked questions about "night"

How do you pronounce "night"?
To pronounce "night", say each of its 3 phonics sound chunks in order — n, igh, and t — then blend them smoothly. Tap the sound boxes above to hear each chunk.
How many sound chunks are in "night"?
"night" has 3 phonics sound chunks: n · igh · t. Breaking a word into chunks helps kids decode it one sound at a time using the Science of Reading approach.
What are the phonics sounds in "night"?
The phonics sounds in "night" are n, igh, and t. Each chunk represents one distinct sound; together they spell the 5-letter word "night".
How many letters are in "night"?
"night" has 5 letters and 3 phonics sound chunks.
What words rhyme with "night"?
Words that rhyme with "night" include "despite", "bite", "light", "cite", "tonight". See the full rhyme-family hub linked below.

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