Magic e words are a key part of learning to read. Understanding silent e words and other phonics rules can make a big difference in reading success, helping kids improve spelling, fluency, and reading confidence.
In this article, we’ll discuss what magic e words are and why they’re important. We’ll also share a list of silent e words and rules, including exceptions. Finally, our literacy experts will review some fun and effective activities and tools that you can use to teach magic e words at home.
Ready to get started? Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents:
What are magic e (or silent e) words?
If you’re wondering what magic e words are—you’re not alone!
Magic e words are words that follow a common phonics rule where an ‘e’ at the end of a word changes the sound of the vowel before it from short to long. This small but powerful ‘e’ is silent—it doesn’t make a sound but works its magic by altering how the preceding vowel is pronounced.
Silent e words are important because they help children understand how vowels change from short to long sounds. By recognizing this pattern, kids can decode new words more easily, helping them expand their vocabulary and improve reading fluency, comprehension, and confidence.
Examples of magic e words:
- cape - i.e., adding an ‘e’ to the end of ‘cap’ (/kæp/) changes it to ‘cape’ (/keɪp/)
- pine - i.e., ‘pin’ (/pɪn/) changes to ‘pine’ (/paɪn/) with a silent e
- hope - i.e., ‘hop’ (/hɑːp/) changes to ‘hope’ (/hoʊp/)
- huge - i.e., ‘hug’ (/hʌɡ/) becomes ‘huge’ (/hjuːdʒ/)
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Magic e words have many other names! For example, you might hear magic e words referred to as silent e words, bossy e words, sneaky e words, vowel-consonant-e (VCE) words, unspoken e words, lazy e words, or final e words. Don’t worry—they all refer to the same thing.
Silent E Rules
So, what is the silent e rule? Here’s a breakdown.
Magic e rule: When a word follows the pattern "vowel-consonant-e" (VCE), the ‘e’ at the end is silent and makes the vowel before it say its long sound. For example, if you add an ‘e’ to the end of the word ‘mad,’ it becomes ‘made’ (i.e., the short ‘a’ turns into a long ‘a’).
Here’s an easy way for kids to remember how to pronounce magic e words: Bossy e makes other vowels say their name. For instance, in the word ‘bake,’ the silent e makes the preceding vowel say its name – i.e., ‘a’.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: The silent e rule only works when you add an ‘e’ to the end of a word with one consonant as the last letter. If the word ends with more than one consonant (i.e., there are two consonants between the vowel and the ‘e’), the magic e rule typically doesn’t apply.
For example, ‘can’ (/kæn/) becomes ‘cane’ (/keɪn/) because there is just one consonant (i.e., ‘n’) at the end of the word before the ‘e.’ But, with the word ‘dance,’ the vowel ‘a’ stays short (i.e., it doesn’t say its name) because there are two consonants (‘n’ and ‘c’) between the vowel and the magic e.
To make this silent e rule exception simple, your child can remember: Two consonants usually block the magic e rule.
Of course, there are always exceptions! In this case, the silent e rule still applies when there are two consonants before the ‘e’ if the first vowel is an ‘a,’ and it comes before ‘st.’ For example, ‘taste,’ ‘waste,’ ‘paste,’ and ‘haste’.
Other Important Magic E Rules
In addition to the primary sneaky e rule above, there are several other magic e word rules to remember.
Dropping the Silent E
When you add a suffix that begins with a vowel to the end of a word (like -ing or -ed), the silent ‘e’ is usually dropped. For example, ‘make’ becomes ‘making’ (the ‘e’ is dropped before adding -ing). However, when you add a suffix that starts with a consonant (like -ly or -ment), the silent ‘e’ usually stays. For example, ‘safe’ becomes ‘safely’ (the ‘e’ remains).
Consonant Sounds
In addition to telling initial vowels to “say their name,” magic e also tells some consonants to make certain sounds. For instance, silent e tells:
- ‘c’ and ‘g’ to make a soft sound (e.g., ‘price’, ‘page’)
- A final ‘th’ to make a voiced consonant sound (i.e., /ð/ like in ‘breathe’ instead of /θ/ like in ‘breath’)
Words Ending in ‘U’ and ‘V’
In English, words typically don’t end in the letters ‘u’ or ‘v.’ However, if an ‘e’ is at the end of a word after a ‘u’ or ‘v,’ this silent e makes the word grammatically correct. For example, ‘give’ and ‘argue.’
Please Note: In this case, the ‘e’ doesn’t change the vowel sound but is necessary for proper spelling.
Words Ending in Consonant + ‘L’ + ‘E’
When a word ends in a consonant with an ‘l’ and an ‘e,’ you add an /əl/ sound to the word (sounds like ‘ul’). For example, ‘able,’ ‘battle,’ or ‘riddle.’
Now that you know what magic e words are, why they’re important, and the rules that govern them, let’s look at a comprehensive list of silent e words.
Magic E Words List
Below are some of the most common and important silent e words to teach your child. For simplicity, we’ve organized the list by vowel sounds.
‘A’:
- ape
- ate
- bake
- bale
- base
- cake
- came
- cape
- case
- cave
- dame
- daze
- fade
- fake
- fame
- game
- gate
- gave
- gaze
- hate
- haze
- lake
- late
- made
- make
- male
- maze
- name
- plane
- rake
- rate
- sale
- same
- save
- take
- tame
- tape
- wade
- wake
- wave
‘E’:
- complete
- eve
- gene
- here
- Pete
- theme
- these
‘I’:
- bike
- bite
- dice
- dime
- dive
- fine
- hide
- hike
- ice
- kite
- lice
- life
- like
- line
- live
- mice
- mile
- mine
- nice
- nine
- pile
- pipe
- rice
- ride
- ripe
- rise
- side
- time
- vice
- vine
- wide
- wife
- wine
- wipe
- wise
‘O’:
- bone
- broke
- choke
- code
- cone
- cope
- cove
- dole
- dome
- dose
- dote
- hole
- home
- hope
- hose
- joke
- lobe
- lone
- mode
- mole
- mope
- nope
- nose
- note
- ode
- poke
- pole
- pope
- pose
- robe
- rode
- rope
- rose
- rove
- smoke
- sole
- stone
- tone
- tote
- vole
- vote
- woke
- wove
- zone
‘U’:
- cube
- cute
- dude
- duke
- dune
- dupe
- flute
- fume
- fuse
- huge
- June
- mule
- muse
- mute
- nude
- rude
- rule
- ruse
- tube
- tune
- use
- yule
Of course, some words break the rules. Let’s take a look at some silent e exceptions.
Common Exceptions to the Silent E Rule
Several sight words break the bossy e rule. While these magic e words don’t follow the typical silent e rule, they are common in English and, therefore, essential for early readers to recognize.
Words that are exceptions to the magic e rule include:
- Come
- Done
- Give
- Gone
- Have
- Live
- Love
- Move
- None
- One
- Some
- Sure
- There
- Where
- Whose
Now, how do you teach silent e to kids? Let’s look at some fun games, activities, and books you can use to teach silent e words at home.
How to Teach Magic E Words
Teaching silent e words can be fun and engaging with the right approach. Here are some effective games, activities, and books to help kids master the magic e rule.
Magic E Word Games & Activities
1. Silent E Treasure Hunt
Hide flashcards with silent e words around the room and give clues using words with short vowels (e.g., “Find the hidden ‘hat’ and turn it into ‘hate’!”).
Why it works: It combines movement with learning, which can improve memory and keep kids engaged.
2. Magic E Wand Activity
Make a “magic e wand” from craft materials. When your child reads a short vowel word, they can wave the wand and add the “sneaky e” to change the word (e.g., ‘kit’ to ‘kite’).
Why it works: The interactive nature of this silent e game makes learning feel like playtime.
3. Flip the Word Challenge
Create a list of short vowel words that can be changed by adding a bossy e (e.g., ‘hop’ → ‘hope,’ ‘tap’ → ‘tape’). Then, have your child “flip” the short vowel word into a long vowel word by writing an ‘e’ at the end. Ask your child to say the initial word and the final magic e word so they can see the difference in pronunciation.
Why it works: This silent e game reinforces spelling patterns and helps children practice word transformations and pronunciation.
4. Silent E Word Sort
Give your child a mix of short vowel words (e.g., ‘can’) and silent e words (e.g., ‘cane’) written on paper. Have them sort the words into two groups: words with and without the magic e.
Why it works: Sorting activities help kids identify patterns and organize their learning.
5. Word Detective
Ask your child to be a “word detective” and find as many silent e words as they can in a book, magazine, or story.
Why it works: This encourages independent exploration and strengthens your child’s ability to recognize silent e words in real-life reading.
Silent E Stories & Books
Reading books that include lots of magic e words is another great way to help your child learn and practice the bossy e rule. As your child (or you) reads aloud, ask them to point out the silent e words they notice.
This is a great activity, as seeing words in context strengthens comprehension and makes it easier to remember spelling patterns.
PRO TIP FOR PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS: Use a kids' reading app like Booka to easily find phonics-focused stories that feature silent e words.
Below are some great decodable books that include lots of magic e words.
By Wiley Blevins
Illustrated By Sean O’Neill
This decodable book demonstrates the short and long sounds that each vowel makes. As a result, it can help your child visually and audibly understand how silent e changes vowel pronunciation.
This story is suitable for kids in preschool to grade 3.
By Kim Thompson
Illustrated By Brett Curzon
This book focuses on the long ‘a’ sound and will help your child learn to discriminate between short ‘a’ and long ‘a’ and how to read a-consonant-silent e words.
This story is suitable for preschoolers and older children.
By Kim Thompson
Illustrated By Brett Curzon
June the Mule is a decodable book that focuses on the long ‘u’ sound. This story will help you teach your child to discriminate between short ‘u’ and long ‘u’ and how to read words that include the spelling pattern u-consonant-magic e.
This story is suitable for kids in preschoolers and up.
Teach Magic E Words at Home with Booka
Helping your child master magic e words doesn’t have to be challenging. With the Booka reading app for kids, it’s fun and easy!
Booka’s interactive design, personalized feed of picture books (including phonics books), and wide selection of read along books narrated by professional narrators allow kids to find books they’ll love - so practicing silent e words feels like play-not work.
Download Booka today and make phonics fun!