For parents of young learners
Magic e words for kids
In magic e words, the e at the end is silent, but it makes the vowel say its name: cap becomes cape and kit becomes kite. Teachers also call this the split digraph or silent e. Here are 90 words in five groups, word pairs and practice ideas.
By the Eloqova team · Updated 29 October 2026
Explain it like this: "The magic e jumps over the letter and taps the vowel, so the vowel says its name." Children love acting out the jump with a finger.
20 a_e words
- cake
- bake
- make
- lake
- name
- game
- same
- gate
- late
- date
- cave
- wave
- tape
- cape
- made
- fade
- plane
- snake
- grape
- skate
20 i_e words
- bike
- like
- hike
- kite
- bite
- time
- lime
- fine
- line
- nine
- pine
- ride
- hide
- side
- wide
- five
- dive
- smile
- slide
- white
20 o_e words
- home
- bone
- cone
- hope
- rope
- nose
- rose
- hole
- pole
- note
- vote
- joke
- poke
- stone
- phone
- globe
- smoke
- those
- broke
- close
20 u_e words
- cube
- tube
- mule
- cute
- huge
- tune
- June
- rule
- flute
- use
- fume
- dune
- prune
- mute
- fuse
- duke
- rude
- plume
- brute
- crude
10 e_e words
Words with e_e are fewer and come up later, so start these after the other four groups.
- Pete
- eve
- these
- theme
- scene
- gene
- Steve
- delete
- complete
- compete
20 word pairs: see the magic e at work
| Without e | With magic e |
|---|---|
| cap | cape |
| tap | tape |
| can | cane |
| man | mane |
| hat | hate |
| mat | mate |
| pin | pine |
| kit | kite |
| bit | bite |
| hid | hide |
| rid | ride |
| dim | dime |
| hop | hope |
| not | note |
| rob | robe |
| cod | code |
| cub | cube |
| tub | tube |
| cut | cute |
| us | use |
Sentences to read
- I like to ride my bike.
- The snake is by the lake.
- Five kites fly in the wind.
- I hope the bone is in the hole.
- June is a cute mule.
- Pete made a cake.
How to practise at home
- Write a CVC word, then add an e on a sticky note and read the new word together.
- Sort word cards into a_e, i_e, o_e and u_e piles.
- Read the sentences aloud, tapping the vowel each time the magic e works.
- Play "magic e bingo" with words from the lists.
Questions parents ask
What is a magic e word?
A word that ends in a silent e which makes the vowel before it say its name, like cake, kite and home.
Is magic e the same as split digraph?
Yes. A split digraph is the vowel and the e split by a consonant, like a_e in cake. Silent e, magic e and split digraph all describe the same pattern.
When should children learn magic e words?
After they can read CVC words and simple digraphs confidently, usually in UKG or Class 1.