Beginning sounds are the first sounds you hear in a word: sun starts with a "sss" sound, moon with "mmm". Hearing that first sound is the bridge between listening and reading, because it is how a child starts to link a sound to a letter. In this first sound hunt, your child sees a letter and a key picture, hears "Find the picture that starts like sun," and picks the matching picture. There are games for all 26 letters, with every picture labelled in English and Hindi.
What is a beginning sound?
A beginning sound (also called an initial sound) is the very first sound of a spoken word. Bat and bus share a beginning sound. Bat and cat do not, even though they rhyme. Being able to pick out that first sound is a key part of phonemic awareness, and it usually comes after a child can clap syllables and hear rhyming words.
Notice that it is about the sound, not the spelling. Cat and kite start with the same sound even though the letters are different, so this game counts C and K as the same first sound.
How to use this beginning sounds game
Sound hunt
A key strip at the top shows the letter (for example Ss), a key picture with its word (sun) and a sound hint written as "sss like sun". The voice says "Find the picture that starts like sun." Your child picks from two or three pictures, each labelled in English and Hindi. After a right answer, the voice joins the two words, for example "bat, bus. They start the same." That spoken pair is the whole lesson in one line.
We model the sound with a key word instead of playing isolated letter sounds, because a key word is clearer on a phone speaker and easier for a young child to copy. You can add the pure sound yourself: "sss... sun".
The key words run from A to Z: ant, bus, cat, dog, egg, fish, goat, hat, insect, jellyfish, kite, lion, moon, nest, octopus, pig, queen, rabbit, sun, tiger, umbrella, van, watermelon, yo-yo and zebra. X is special. Very few English words start with an X sound, so the game says "X likes to hide at the end" and asks your child to find the picture that ends like fox: box, ox or six.
Letters
The second tab has 26 letter buttons. Tap one to see and hear up to four picture words that start with that sound, with the first letter highlighted and the Hindi meaning shown. Use it as a talking beginning sounds chart before or after the hunt.
Hints, marbles and settings
Nothing here says "wrong". A mistaken tap gets a gentle "hmm" and a spoken reminder to listen again, a second miss makes the right picture glow, and a third brings Golu, our marble mascot, to point at it. Every game ends with a marble in the Goli Jar. The grown-up settings let you set your child's age (which changes how many pictures appear) and turn on fewer choices, calm motion, calm sound, captions or high contrast. The अ+A button sets whether Hindi or English comes first.
Beginning sounds for preschool, LKG and UKG
| Age | What is realistic | Try this |
|---|---|---|
| 3-4 years (nursery) | Hears that two words "start the same" when you stretch them | Letters tab: tap a letter and listen together. Stretch the first sound. |
| 4-5 years (LKG, kindergarten) | Matches pictures with the same beginning sound; knows many letter sounds | Sound hunt with two pictures, a few letters a day. |
| 5-6 years (UKG, class 1) | Links most first sounds to letters; starts reading simple words | Sound hunt with three pictures, then move to three letter words. |
How to teach beginning sounds at home
Best letter sounds to teach first
Start with sounds you can stretch and that look different from each other, such as s, m, a, t, p. "Sss" and "mmm" are easy to hear and hold. Leave letters like q, x and y for later. You do not have to go in A to Z order; many phonics programmes start with s, a, t, p, i, n because those letters build lots of short words quickly.
Beginning sounds activities (5 minutes a day)
- I spy beginning sounds: "I spy something that starts like mmm... mango!" Take turns so your child gives the clue too.
- Kitchen sort: put out a spoon, a sugar tin, a plate and a pan. Ask your child to find the two that start like sun. This is a real beginning sound sort.
- Name game: "Riya, rabbit, red!" Find words that start like each family member's name.
- Market hunt: at the sabzi market, look for things that start like p: potato, peas, papaya.
- Sound basket: give your child a basket and a sound. They collect toys that start with it in two minutes.
Stretch the first sound and then say the word: "fffff-ish". Avoid adding "uh" to sounds ("buh", "tuh") as much as you can. Say a short, clipped "b" so it blends well later.
A beginning sounds worksheet you can make
There is no PDF to download, but you can print this page from your browser. To make your own beginning sounds worksheet, draw one letter at the top of a page and let your child draw or stick three pictures that start with it. Cut pictures from old magazines for a quick matching beginning sounds sheet.
Letter sounds in Hindi and English
In Hindi, each letter of the वर्णमाला usually stands for one sound, and a letter's name and sound are closely linked: क is said "ka" and कमल starts with it. English is messier. The letter name "see" does not sound like the start of cat. That is why the English key words matter. Children who already know अ से अनार understand the idea of a key word, so you can say "S se sun" and it clicks straight away. The Hindi meaning under each picture keeps the vocabulary clear for bilingual children, but the sound hunt itself is about the English first sound.
Some pairs are confusing for Indian English speakers, such as v and w (van, watermelon) or the soft and hard th. Say them slowly with your child and do not worry about perfect accents. Hearing that two words start the same is the skill.
Keep it calm: tips for every child
Praise the listening: "You heard the sss!" If your child guesses randomly, drop to two pictures with "fewer choices" and say the key word together, slowly. If frustration builds, switch to the Letters tab and just explore. For children with speech delay, it is fine if they cannot say a sound clearly yet; they can still hear and pick the match, which builds the skill. Autistic children often like the steady key strip and repeated phrases. Keep screen sessions short (5 to 10 minutes) and sit with your child. For under-2s, real objects and your voice are better than a screen. If you are worried about your child's hearing or speech, talk to your paediatrician.
Keep going with phonics sounds A to Z, practise letter shapes with ABCD with pictures and capital and small letters, and when your child is ready, blend sounds into three letter words.
