Three letter words like cat, sun and bus are usually the first words a child reads alone. They are called CVC words because they follow a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern: c-a-t. On this page your child sees a word written letter by letter, taps "Sound it out" to hear the sounds join together, and then taps the matching picture. Each picture is named in English and Hindi, so reading connects to meaning. It is free, with no sign-up and no ads.
What are CVC words? (CVC words kya hote hain)
CVC is short for consonant-vowel-consonant. That is the full form. A CVC word has a consonant sound, then a short vowel sound, then another consonant sound: c-a-t, h-e-n, p-i-g, d-o-g, s-u-n. Each letter makes one sound, so a child who knows letter sounds can read these words without memorising them. That is the whole point of phonics: children "crack the code" themselves.
Here are CVC words examples for each vowel, a e i o u, taken from this game:
| Middle vowel | CVC words in the game | More to try at home |
|---|---|---|
| a | cat, bat, rat, hat, van, fan, pan, map, bag, cap | mat, jam, man, tap |
| e | hen, bed, net, pen, web, leg | red, ten, jet, wet |
| i | pig | pin, tin, sit, lip, bin |
| o | dog, pot, box, fox | hop, top, log, mop |
| u | sun, bus, cup, bug, hut, tub | mug, rug, nut, run |
A small note for teachers: the game also shows a few short words that are not strictly CVC. Egg and ant start with a vowel, owl has a two-letter vowel sound, and the x in box and fox makes two sounds (/ks/). They are still three letter words children love, and they make good talking points: "Listen, ant starts with a vowel!"
How to use this three letter words game
A word appears in big letters with gaps between them: c a t. Golu says "Read the word. Which picture is it?" Your child can try to read it alone, or tap Sound it out to hear "c... a... t... cat" in clear audio. Then they tap the matching picture from two to four choices (the number depends on the age set in Settings). A wrong tap never hears "wrong": the game names the picture they tapped, makes the right one glow, and then Golu points. Each game ends with a marble in the Goli Jar.
The अ+A button changes the language of the question. Calm sound, captions, fewer choices and high contrast are in Settings behind a grown-up check. Progress stays on your device and the page works in any browser, even on a slow connection once loaded.
How to teach CVC words step by step
Blending is the key skill. Here is a gentle path that works at home in 5-10 minutes a day.
- Know some letter sounds first. Your child needs the sounds, not just the names. Start with s, a, t, p, i, n on our phonics sounds page.
- Oral blending before reading. With no letters at all, say "Where is your n-o-se?" or "Pass me the c-u-p." Your child blends the sounds in their head. Play this in the car or at dinner.
- Say pure sounds. Say /k/ not "kuh", /t/ not "tuh". Extra "uh" sounds turn "cat" into "kuh-a-tuh".
- Point and slide. Point under each letter, say its sound, then slide your finger under the whole word and say it fast: "c-a-t, cat!"
- Stretchy sounds first. Words that start with sounds you can hold (s, m, f, n) are easier to blend: "sssun", "mmmap", "fffan".
- Swap one letter. Change cat to hat to bat to bag. This "word chain" shows how letters work.
- Read in sentences. Try simple CVC sentences: "A cat sat on a mat." "The hen is in the pen." "A big bug is on a rug."
Sound buttons: draw a dot under each letter of a word. Your child presses each dot like a button while saying the sound, then sweeps a finger along to read the word. It turns reading into a game.
Three letter words for LKG, UKG and class 1
| Stage | Typical age | What to aim for |
|---|---|---|
| Nursery / preschool | 3-4 | Rhymes, first sounds, oral blending games. No reading pressure. |
| LKG | 4-5 | Learn letter sounds; blend a few CVC words with help. |
| UKG / kindergarten | 5-6 | Read CVC words on their own; read simple CVC sentences. |
| Class 1 | 6-7 | Read CVC words quickly; move to four-letter words (frog, stop) and sounds like sh, ch, th. |
India's NIPUN Bharat targets ask children to read simple words of two or three letters by the end of Balvatika (age 5-6). A three letter words list for a 5 year old should start with the /a/ words, which are easiest.
Two letter words for kids in English
Some common English words have just two letters: at, in, on, up, is, it, an, am, as, if, us, to, go, no, me, we, he, be, my, by, do, so. Some (at, in, on, up, it, am) can be sounded out using phonics; others (to, go, the three-letter "the") are better learned as sight words. How to teach two and three letter words together: start with sound-it-out words like "at" and "in", then add a consonant in front to make "cat" and "pin". For Hindi two-letter words such as घर, जल and कप, try our do akshar wale shabd page.
What are sight words for kids?
Sight words are common words that children learn to recognise instantly by sight, often because they do not follow simple phonics rules: the, was, said, you, are, they, of, one. Good readers learn them alongside phonics, not instead of it. For UKG and class 1, a short sight words list of 20-30 words is plenty.
How to teach sight words: write five of them on cards, stick them on the fridge, and point to them when you see them in a book. Make a short sentence with sight words and CVC words together: "The cat is on the bed." Play "slap the word": lay out cards and call one; your child slaps it. Read together every day, because real books are the best sight words chart.
CVC words activities and worksheets you can make
- Picture match: draw five pictures (sun, cup, hat, pig, bed) and write the words below in a different order. Your child joins each word to its picture. That is a CVC words worksheet in two minutes.
- Missing middle: write c_t, h_n, p_g and let your child fill the vowel. See our vowels page for help with short vowel sounds.
- Kitchen reading: label a cup, a pan, a pot and a jar with sticky notes. Your child reads a label and fetches the object.
- Rhyme families: cat, hat, bat, rat all end in "-at". Word families make reading faster; our rhyming words game helps here.
- A tiny CVC story: "A red hen sat in a big box. A fox ran up. The hen hid!" Draw it together.
- Print this page: the word list above prints as a three letter words chart with pictures, English and Hindi words.
Tips for Indian parents: common confusions
- b and d: "bed" and "dog" are easy to flip. Use the "bed" trick: two thumbs-up fists make b-e-d.
- v and w: in "van" and "web", the sounds differ. For v, top teeth touch the lower lip; for w, lips make a circle.
- e and i: "pen" and "pin" sound close. Exaggerate your mouth shape: a wide smile for /i/, a slightly more open mouth for /e/.
- Letter names while blending: "see-ay-tee" does not make "cat". Always blend with sounds.
No pressure: praise, frustration and different learners
Reading the first word alone is a huge moment, so celebrate it. Praise effort ("You sounded out every letter!"), and if your child gets stuck, blend the first two sounds for them ("ca... ") and let them finish. Stop before they get tired. Children with a speech delay can show their answer by tapping the picture; that counts as reading. For autistic children, repeating the same few words each day builds confidence. If reading still feels very hard by the end of class 1, or you are worried about speech or hearing, talk to the class teacher and your paediatrician.
Screen time: under 2, no screens is best. For ages 2-5, keep sessions short, play together, and keep total screen time to about an hour a day. Books on your lap beat any screen for reading.
How to use this page at home
Say it, then find it
Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: three letter words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.
Ten minutes is enough
Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.
Use both languages
Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.
