The 'igh' sound is a grapheme (trigraph) that appears often in many words.

In the realm of phonics, certain letter combinations hold significant importance. Among them, the 'igh' trigraph stands out prominently. This trio of letters, though seemingly straightforward, plays a crucial role in the development of literacy skills. It is sounded as a long i and is one of a set of graphemes that make the long i sound. For example 'i', 'i-e', 'ie', 'y' and 'y-e'.

'igh' features prominently in various words, such as "high," "night," "light," and "sight." Its consistent presence underscores its importance as a fundamental element in understanding phonics. Recognizing and decoding words containing the 'igh' trigraph is a milestone in a learner's journey toward literacy.

Let's have a look at some other common 'igh' words:

  • tight
  • light
  • fortnight
  • night
  • right
  • spotlight
  • fright
  • bright
  • delight
  • high
  • insight
  • sight
  • height
  • might
  • slight
  • highlight
  • nightlight
  • sigh
  • fight

Be aware though, that there are some exceptions - words that have 'igh' within them, but do not sound like the letter 'i':

  • neighbour - sounds like n-a-bour, not ne-i-bour
  • weight - sounds like w-a-t, not we-i-t
  • eight - sounds like a-t, not e-i-t

This is because 'eigh' is it's own four-letter grapheme that sounds like a long a.

We will wwite another page about 'eigh'.

In the meantime why not play PhonicSnap with the 'igh sound?