• 84 words

Short I Words

Words with the vowel sound of sit, sorted by ending, plus the y that says short i in gym.

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List 1: -it (sit)

Words to learn. Read each word, cover it, write it, then check it.

  1. 1.sitPlease sit next to your partner.
  2. 2.hitHail hit the tin roof all night.
  3. 3.bitAdd a bit of cinnamon to the oatmeal.
  4. 4.fitThe puzzle piece did not fit there.
  5. 5.kitThe first aid kit hangs by the door.
  6. 6.pitToss the plum pit in the compost.
  7. 7.litOne candle lit up the whole table.
  8. 8.quitThe old printer quit working again.
  9. 9.slitCut a slit in the top of the box.
  10. 10.gritGrit from the road got in my shoe.
  11. 11.splitThe seam of my glove split open.
  12. 12.skitOur class wrote a funny skit.

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Accents do not count: café may be typed as cafe, and the marks show how it is written.

Only voices built into this device are used, so the words are not sent to a speech service to be read. With no voice, a person reads the words from the last page of the test sheet.

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The words are mixed from the lists you tick, so a review test needs a read-aloud voice.

Next step Next vowel, short o: hot, frog, rockShort i before ck: sick, brick, trick

All 84 words

List 1: -it (sit) 12

  • bit Add a bit of cinnamon to the oatmeal.
  • fit The puzzle piece did not fit there.
  • grit Grit from the road got in my shoe.
  • hit Hail hit the tin roof all night.
  • kit The first aid kit hangs by the door.
  • lit One candle lit up the whole table.
  • pit Toss the plum pit in the compost.
  • quit The old printer quit working again.
  • sit Please sit next to your partner.
  • skit Our class wrote a funny skit.
  • slit Cut a slit in the top of the box.
  • split The seam of my glove split open.

List 2: -in (pin) 12

  • begin Auditions begin right after roll call.
  • chin Soup dripped down his chin.
  • fin A goldfish flicks its fin to steer.
  • grin A wide grin spread across her face.
  • pin A safety pin held the costume together.
  • skin Peel the skin off the orange.
  • spin Spin the wheel to pick a prize.
  • thin Cut the bread into thin slices.
  • tin The roof of the shed is tin.
  • twin Her twin plays the trumpet in band.
  • win Both teams want to win the game.
  • within Stay within the lines when you color.

List 3: -ig and -ip (pig, ship) 12

  • big An elephant has big ears.
  • chip One chip of blue tile came loose.
  • clip Clip the leash to the puppy's collar.
  • dig We dig holes for the tulip bulbs.
  • flip Flip the pancake when it bubbles.
  • pig A spotted pig won the ribbon at the fair.
  • ship A model ship sits inside the bottle.
  • slip Wet floors can make you slip.
  • trip Pack sandwiches for the canoe trip.
  • twig Snap the twig to hear if it is dry.
  • whip Whip the egg whites until they stand up.
  • wig The judge in the play wore a white wig.

List 4: -ill (hill) 12

  • bill The heron speared a minnow with its bill.
  • drill We had a fire drill this morning.
  • fill Fill the wheelbarrow with dry leaves.
  • grill Peppers sizzled on the backyard grill.
  • hill Goats graze on the steep hill behind us.
  • mill Water still turns the wheel of the mill.
  • pill The vet gave our cat a pill.
  • quill She dipped the quill in ink.
  • skill Tying a bow is a useful skill.
  • spill Carry the cup slowly so nothing will spill.
  • still Hold still while I take the picture.
  • will The ferry will leave when the horn sounds.

List 5: longer one-syllable words (fish) 12

  • crisp The apple was cold and crisp.
  • dish Grandma's blue dish holds the lemons.
  • fish The fish darted behind a clump of weeds.
  • gift Tape a bow onto the gift bag.
  • list Write a list of what we need.
  • print A muddy paw print dried on the porch.
  • quiz Ten quick questions made up the quiz.
  • shrimp A tiny shrimp hid in the tide pool.
  • sniff Take a sniff of the fresh basil.
  • squid A squid squirted ink and swam away.
  • swim We swim at the pool on Fridays.
  • wish My wish is for a snowy birthday.

List 6: two syllables (mit-ten) 12

  • dinner Grandpa hums while he stirs dinner.
  • kitchen The kitchen timer rang during the story.
  • little A little bird hopped on the fence.
  • middle Stand in the middle of the circle.
  • mitten A striped mitten hung from the fence post.
  • pillow Fluff the pillow before bed.
  • river Fog lifted off the river at sunrise.
  • sister My sister taught me to ride a bike.
  • visit We visit my aunt every summer.
  • window A moth tapped against the porch window.
  • winter Snow covers the yard in winter.
  • zipper This tent door has a double zipper.

List 7: y as short i (gym) 12

  • gym Banners hang from the rafters of the gym.
  • gymnast The gymnast landed on both feet.
  • lyric I know every lyric of that song.
  • mystery Who took the cookies is a mystery.
  • myth The myth tells how the sun was made.
  • oxygen Today the science lesson is about oxygen.
  • physical Moving the piano took real physical effort.
  • pyramid We stacked the cups in a pyramid.
  • rhythm Clap the rhythm of the song.
  • syllable Clap once for each syllable.
  • system Our class has a system for lining up.
  • typical On a typical day we read first.

How it works

These short i words fill 7 lists of twelve, 84 words in all, from sit, pin and pig to shrimp, kitchen and window. Every word has a sentence.

Read the full guide

A short i words list for each ending

List 1 is -it (sit, quit, split) and List 2 is -in (pin, chin, begin). List 3 pairs -ig with -ip (pig, twig, ship, flip). List 4 is -ill, always with a double l (hill, spill, quill). List 5 has blends and digraphs (fish, crisp, shrimp) and List 6 two syllables (mitten, kitchen, window).

Short i vowel words spelled with y

In List 7 the letter y stands between two consonants and spells the sound: gym, myth, system, rhythm, pyramid. The dictionary writes that y exactly as it writes the i of sit. Oxygen is the one word where that y is in an unstressed syllable.

  • Begin and within are stressed on the last syllable, the one that rhymes with pin.

Questions and answers

What are kindergarten short i words?

Our suggestion is the three-letter words of Lists 1 to 3: sit, hit, bit, pin, win, pig, big and dig. Quit, split, twig and whip in the same lists can wait.

Is there a list of short i words that rhyme?

Lists 1, 2 and 4 each rhyme from top to bottom: -it, -in and -ill. List 3 holds two rhymes, -ig and -ip.

Which short i sound words are spelled without i?

Besides the y words of List 7, busy, build, women and pretty have the sound, spelled u, ui, o and e. Those four are not on the lists.

Why are in and him not on the lists?

Each sounds exactly like another word, inn and hymn, and the dictionary gives each pair one pronunciation. Bin is left off for the same reason: it is said like been.

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