Ending sounds are the last sounds we hear in a word: the /t/ at the end of cat, the /g/ at the end of dog, the /n/ at the end of sun. Most children notice first sounds long before last sounds, so this ending sounds game for kids gives them one clear job. A picture and its word appear with the last letter picked out (cat), a clear voice asks "Which picture ends like cat?", and your child taps the match from two or three pictures. Every picture also has its Hindi name, so the game works in bilingual homes too.
What is an ending sound, and why does it matter?
An ending sound (also called a final sound) is the last sound in a spoken word. It is about the ear, not the spelling. Cake is spelled with an e at the end, but the last sound you hear is /k/, the same as in duck and book. Being able to hear that sound is a part of phonemic awareness: the skill of hearing the small sounds inside words.
Why bother? When your child starts reading and spelling three letter words, they need all three sounds. A child who only hears the first sound writes c for cat and stops, or reads cap when the word says cat. Practising final sounds teaches the ear to stay alert to the end of the word. It also prepares children for rhyming words, where the whole ending matches, and for blending CVC words, where every sound counts.
How to use this ending sounds game
There is one mode, so your child can start straight away. Every instruction is spoken; your child does not need to read.
- The key strip: at the top is a picture with its word, and the last letter is highlighted. The voice says "Which picture ends like cat?"
- The choices: below are two or three pictures, each labelled in English and Hindi. Only one ends with the same sound.
- A right answer: the voice joins the two words, for example "cat, hat. They end the same." Hearing the pair side by side is the real lesson.
- A mistaken tap: the game never says "wrong". It makes a gentle "hmm" and says the name of the picture your child tapped, so they can hear for themselves that it ends differently. On a second mistaken tap the right picture glows, and on a third Golu, our marble mascot, points to it.
- The end card: after 4 to 8 rounds (the number depends on the age set in grown-up settings) your child gets a marble in the Goli Jar. Tap the jar to count the marbles together.
The अ+A button in the header changes the language order for the picture names. Grown-up settings also include calm motion, calm sound, captions, fewer choices and high contrast.
The final sounds in this game
Pictures are grouped by their last sound. These are the groups your child will meet; the picture names and Hindi labels are in the word list further down the page.
| Ending sound | Say it as | Words in the game |
|---|---|---|
| t | /t/ (short, no "uh") | cat, bat, hat, goat, boat, net, hut, pot, coat, rocket, parrot, carrot |
| g | /g/ | dog, pig, frog, bug, egg, bag, leg, hedgehog |
| n | /nnn/ | sun, pen, van, fan, hen, lion, moon, spoon, ten, penguin, dolphin |
| x | /ks/ | fox, box, ox, six |
| p | /p/ | cup, map, cap, ship, sheep, soap |
| d | /d/ | bed, bread, bird, cloud |
| m | /mmm/ | drum, broom, worm |
| k | /k/ | duck, sock, rock, book, snake, cake |
| l | /l/ | bell, owl, ball, snail, seal, camel, pencil |
Notice that snake and cake sit with duck and book. Their spelling ends in e, but their last sound is /k/. That is a good talking point with a 6-year-old: "We listen to the end of the word, not the letters." Similarly, fox ends in two quick sounds, /k/ and /s/, which is why the letter x has its own group.
Ending sounds for kindergarten, UKG and class 1: what to expect
This page is set for ages 5-6, but it helps to know where final sounds fit in the order most children learn listening skills.
| Age | Typical listening skill | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| 3-4 (nursery) | Enjoys rhymes and songs; claps syllables | Sing rhymes, play rhyming games, clap names |
| 4-5 (LKG, preschool) | Hears the first sound in a word | Play beginning sounds and learn letter sounds |
| 5-6 (UKG, kindergarten) | Hears the last sound; starts to hear the middle vowel | This ending sounds game; say words slowly and stretch the end |
| 6+ (class 1) | Hears all three sounds; blends and spells short words | CVC blending and three letter words |
Children move at different speeds. If your child finds final sounds hard, go back to first sounds for a week and try again; that is not a step backwards.
How to teach ending sounds at home in 5 minutes a day
The trick is to make the end of the word louder and longer when you say it. Try "sunnn", "drummm", "bell". Sounds like /n/, /m/, /l/ and /s/ can be stretched, so start with those. Stop sounds like /t/, /p/, /g/ and /d/ are short, so say them crisply at the end: "ca-t".
Kitchen and home activities
- Plate game: at meals, name something you are eating and ask what sound is at the end. "Bread. What do you hear at the end? /d/!"
- Odd one out: say three words, two with the same ending: "cup, map, sun". Your child finds the one that ends differently.
- Sound basket: put a few objects in a basket (a sock, a book, a cup, a pen) and sort them by their last sound.
Outdoor and travel activities
- Market walk: at the vegetable market, ask "What ends like ten?" Many Indian words work too, which is fine: listening is the skill, whatever the language.
- Park hunt: look for a bird, a cloud and a ball, then say the last sound of each.
- Car game: one person says a word, the next says a word that ends the same. "Cat." "Hat." "Boat."
Say pure sounds: /t/, not "tuh". An added "uh" makes it harder for your child to hear the sound clearly and later to blend it. The voice in the game says whole words, so your own clear sounds are a useful partner to it.
Ending sounds worksheet and chart ideas you can make
There is no separate PDF on this site, but you can print this page through your browser: the table of final sounds above and the word list below print cleanly and work as a simple ending sounds chart. Some easy home-made worksheets:
- Draw and match: draw a cat, a dog and a sun on the left, and a hat, a frog and a pen on the right. Your child draws lines between words that end the same.
- Circle the last letter: write short CVC words (cat, pig, cup) and let your child circle the final letter after saying the word aloud.
- Fill the end: write "ca_" with a picture of a cat, and let your child write the missing letter.
For class 1, ask your child to find the beginning, middle and ending sounds in a word like bus: /b/ /u/ /s/. That is exactly the skill used in our CVC words blending train.
A note for Hindi and bilingual homes
The game asks about English ending sounds, but every picture also shows its Hindi name. You can play the same game in Hindi out loud: कमल and महल both end in ल. Children who switch between two languages are often good at listening for sounds, because they already notice that words can sound different. Hearing English and Hindi side by side does not confuse them.
Keep it calm: tips for every child
Praise the listening, not just the right answer: "You said both words slowly, well done." If your child taps quickly and guesses, ask them to say the key word out loud first, then each choice. If they get frustrated, stop and play a rhyming game or return to first sounds. For children with speech delay, a hearing difficulty or autism, keep to two choices (use the "fewer choices" setting), repeat the same sound group many times, and add a gesture, such as tapping your chin for the end of a word. If you are worried about your child's hearing or speech, talk to your paediatrician.
Keep sessions to 5 to 10 minutes and play together, saying the words with your child. Children under 2 do not need phonics games; songs, books and your voice are far more useful to them at that age.
