Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season filled with joy, relaxation, and maybe a little extra time to brush up on your English. If not, don’t worry—this is a no-pressure zone. This is a new year with new opportunities!

Before the break, I had a discussion with a dear student about the pronunciation of the word salmon. It took a lot of persuasion to convince him that we don’t pronounce the letter l in this word and this quirky aspect of English: silent letters. Yes, those sneaky letters that sit in words, looking important, but don’t make a sound.

While thinking about this, I came across a hilarious video about silent letters. It’s amazing how funny English can be when you realize how many extra letters we love to include but never actually pronounce.

So, to kick off the new year, I’ve made a little list of common English words with the silent letter in brackets after it. See how many you already know!

20 Common Words with Silent Letters

1. Salmon (l) .
2. Debt (b)
3. Island (s)
4. Doubt (b)
5. Knife (k)!
6. Wrist (w)
7. Listen (t)
8. Castle (t)
9. Hour (h).
10. Honest (h).
11. Thumb (b)
12. Knee (k)
13. Calm (l).
14. Wednesday (d)
15. Subtle (b)
16. Plumber (b)
17. Subtle (b).
18. Gnome (g)
19. Handkerchief (d)
20. Climb (b)

Why Do Silent Letters Exist?

Great question! Silent letters are often leftovers from older versions of English or borrowed from other languages. Over time, we stopped pronouncing some sounds, but the spelling didn’t change. That’s why English can sometimes feel like a mystery to solve!

So watch the video, laugh a little, and maybe practice saying these words out loud (without pronouncing the silent letters, of course).

Let’s make 2025 a fun and successful year for your English learning! Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; even native speakers struggle with some of these words.

Happy New Year and happy learning!