Mastering Tricky Words: A Phase by Phase Guide to Phonics Success

Tricky words can trip up even the most confident of parents. You’re teaching your child phonics, you're following all the guidance... and then suddenly, you're told they need to learn a bunch of words they can’t even sound out properly? Erm, what?

Don’t worry—you’re not alone. In this post, I'll break down everything you need to know about tricky words: what they are, how to teach them, and how to make it fun.

What Are Tricky Words?

Tricky words are words that children can’t decode using their current phonics knowledge. In other words, they don’t follow the regular phonics rules your child has learned so far.

For example, in Phase 2, your child might know the sounds for s-a-t-p-i-n, but a word like "the" doesn’t quite follow those rules. That’s what makes it tricky!

But here's the thing: tricky words aren’t magic or random. Most of them become fully decodable once children have learned more advanced spelling patterns in later phases. There are only a handful that don't follow any spelling pattern, like 'said' and 'one'. The simple fact is some words have 'old English' spelling patterns and pronunciations.

Do You Memorise Tricky Words?

It’s tempting to just ask your child to memorise them—but that’s not effective (or fun!).

Instead, you need to help your child identify the "tricky part" in the word. For example:

• In the word "said", the tricky part is the "ai", which doesn’t make the usual long a sound, but an "e".

• In "was", the tricky part is the "a", which makes an o sound.

Once your child can see the tricky part, it becomes easier to remember.

Sounding Out Tricky Words—Can You?

Yes and no.

You can sound out the parts of the word that are decodable. This gives your child confidence and reinforces what they already know. Then you simply talk about the part that doesn’t match.

So:

• For "he": your child can sound out /h/ and then you explain the "e" says its name here. There is a spelling rule for this one! When a syllable ends in a long vowel sound, it is sometimes represented with the single vowel letter: be, me, we, he, she, behind, etc.

• For "have": your child might read /h/ /a/ /v/ and you explain that the "e" is there, but silent. The spelling rule here - there are no words in the English language that end with a single 'v', it is always followed by an 'e', for example in love, give, leave.

This builds a strong decoding strategy that will serve them well later on.

Tricky Words vs. High Frequency Words

Let’s clear up a common confusion!

High frequency words (HFWs) are simply the words that appear most often in children's books and writing (like and, is, it, an).

Some HFWs are fully decodable (in, at, it), and some are tricky at the beginning stages of learning phonics (said, was, the).

So:

• All tricky words are HFWs.

• But not all HFWs are tricky!

Phase by Phase Breakdown of Tricky Words

Phase 2 Tricky Words (example: the, I, no, go, to)

• Keep it simple. Say the word, highlight the tricky part, and use actions or gestures.

Phase 3 Tricky Words (example: he, she, we, me, be, was, you)

• Be "tricky word detectives" now that your child knows more sounds: ask your child “What part of this word is tricky?”

Phase 4 Tricky Words (example: come, some, said, were)

• Use silly voices, songs, or mini flashcard games to make them stick. There are a lot of tricky words in phase 4, and they can get a bit intense.

Phase 5 Tricky Words (example: people, water, again, thought, many)

• These often have multiple tricky elements. Get your child to "spot the odd spellings" and talk through them.

Tips to Make Tricky Word Practice Fun

1. Tricky Word Hunt
   Hide flashcards around the house and go on a word hunt.

2. Magic Pens
   Write tricky words in invisible ink or chalk and reveal them.

3. Silly Sentences
   Make up silly sentences using tricky words. “The frog said he was a banana.”

4. Songs and Actions
   Make up and sing your own silly tricky word songs or create a simple action to go with each word.

5. Memory Match Games
   Match tricky words to their "tricky part"—a fun way to reinforce what makes each one unique.

The Takeaway

Teaching tricky words doesn’t have to feel... tricky. When you understand what makes a word tricky and give your child the tools to tackle it, you're setting them up for long-term reading success.

Don’t stress about perfection. Keep it playful, keep it consistent, and remember—it’s not magic, it’s just a phase.

Tricky words are a BIG part of the Phonics at Home Curriculum - interactive, multisensory lessons for you and your child to follow along with to make instant progress in phonics, reading and writing. It's like stepping straight into my classroom. Every sound from phase 2 to phase 5, with a bonus submodule of all those advanced phase 5 sounds that make tricky words, tricky! Click here to explore the curriculum. 

Here are some tricky word flowers free for you to download.

Check out the other blog posts:

Why Automaticity Comes Before Fluency in Reading (With 10 Fun Memory Games to Boost Learning!)

How Singing, Music, and Movement Supercharge Your Child’s Phonics Learning

Why Kids Reverse Letters (b, d, p) and How to Fix It: 7 Proven Strategies for Parents