Skip to main content

What are CVC words, CCVC words and CVCC words?

CVC words
Phonics teaching introduces children to CVC words (consonant vowel consonant), then CCVC words (consonant consonant vowel consonant) and CVCC words (consonant vowel consonant consonant). Understand how teachers will present the different words in the classroom and how to support your child's learning at home in our parents' guide to decoding and blending sounds.

What are CVC words?

A CVC word is a word that is made up of a consonant, vowel and consonant sound.

Cat, hot, tip, man and hut are all CVC words.

What are CCVC words?

Consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant words, for example: trap, chop, stun, grit, shop.

What are CVCC words?

Examples of CVCC (consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant) words are: hunt, fast, cart, milk, want.

Consonant digraphs and vowel digraphs in phonics

Children start to learn their letter sounds in Reception, then start to 'blend' sounds to read words.

As a first step children focus on decoding (reading) three-letter words arranged consonant, vowel, consonant (CVC words). They will learn other letter sounds, such as the consonants g, b, d, h and the remaining vowels e, o, u. A child who already knows all their letter sounds might be shown the CVC word 'pit' and asked to read it out loud. This is the point where they are required to use their knowledge of the individual sounds of each letter and 'blend' these letter sounds together, so they are saying the whole word and not three individual sounds.

CVC words don't have to be three-letter words, as the C, the V and the C refer to consonant and vowel sounds (which could be made up of more than one letter) rather than to individual letters of the alphabet.

Once children have learnt to read a variety of CVC words, they move onto reading digraphs (two letters that make up one sound). They will learn the sounds /ch/ and /sh/ and be shown how to represent these sounds as letters. They will also learn how to blend consonants, for example: they may be shown the two letters 'sp' and asked to say the sounds (/s/ and /p/) these letters make out loud.

Children then move onto reading CCVC words, such as chat, ship, frog, snap.

Once they have mastered these, they will move onto CVCC words, such as bash, card, send, mast.

Alongside this essential work on reading, they will be taught to form all their letters with a pencil on lines. The better they get at decoding (reading a written word out loud) the better they should get at encoding (spelling a spoken word on paper).

Phonics information for parents

For more information on phonics and how it's used to teach children to read look through our parents' guides, or find phonics worksheets and phonics games for your child to help them practise early reading at home.

Give your child a headstart

Give your child a headstart

  • FREE articles & expert information
  • FREE resources & activities
  • FREE homework help
By proceeding you agree to our terms and conditions. For information on how we use your data, see our privacy policy. You will receive emails from us but can opt out at any time.