Sight Word The Worksheet for a Word That Will Not Sound Out

Press Print worksheet for a sheet on the word the, said thuh or thee, which will not sound out.

The sheet shows the word "the". Type your own word to replace it.

What you type stays in your browser. Nothing is sent to us.

NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comthethethethethethethetheTrace it. Then write it.Find "the". Circle it every time. How many did you find?Read it. Say it. Spell it aloud.thetoethethenhetoethethisthemthetheythethatthatthenshetheythethem
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comWrite the missing word. Then read the sentence.Read the sentence. Then write it.Cut out the letters at the bottom. Glue them here in order to build the word.I seedog.We ran to the pond.hte
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comFind "the". Circle it every time. How many did you find?Write the missing word. Then read the sentence.Cut out the letters at the bottom. Glue them here in order to build the word.Read it. Say it. Spell it aloud.Answer keythe5toethethenhetoethethisthemthetheythethatthatthenshetheythethemI seedog.thethehte
Page 1 of 3

The word "the" on 2 pages and 1 page of answers, Letter landscape.

More options
What goes on the sheet
Pick from the 12 sentences with "the"

The whole list is under the tool. With scripts on, each line here can be pressed to put it on the sheet.

Next step Make the sheet for they, the with a y on the endMake the sheet for this, another word with the buzzing th

The sight words and their practice lines

The word on its own 3

  • The the Capital T beside small t. 5 of the 12 sentences on this page open with The, so the child needs both shapes.
  • the 3 letters for 2 sounds. The t and the h make one buzzing sound together, and the e is a soft uh. The t and the h both go tall; the e stays small.
  • the the the Three to trace in one row. Have the child say the word each time the pencil lifts, then write it once more on the empty row.

Spot-the-word rows 4

  • he the she the he Circle the 2 times. He hides inside the, and she ends the same way, but only the starts with a t.
  • the they then the Circle the 2 times. They and then both begin with t-h-e, so the child has to check that nothing follows the e.
  • this the that the Circle the 2 times. This and that open with the same th, then carry on for two more letters.
  • toe the tie the ten Circle the 2 times. Toe, tie and ten all start with t and have 3 letters, but none of them has an h.
Show all 33 practice lines (26 more)

Missing-letter rows 3

  • t__ _h_ __e Two letters are missing each time: he, then t and e, then th, the pair that makes the first sound.
  • the th_ t__ ___ A fading row. Copy the word, then write one more letter from memory each time until the last one is all the child's own.
  • th_ t_e _he One letter is missing each time: e, then h, then t. The middle gap is the one children skip, because no h can be heard in the word.

Short phrases, said thuh or thee 11

  • the ant Thee ant. Ant sounds out: a, n, t.
  • the apple Thee apple. Apple is long, so clap ap-ple as two beats before writing it.
  • at the top Said thuh, because top starts with a consonant sound. At and top both sound out, so this makes a good first phrase.
  • the big dog Thuh again. Big and dog sound out, which leaves the as the only word to know by sight.
  • the egg Thee egg. Many American speakers say thuh egg as well, and both are fine. The spelling never changes.
  • the end Said thee in careful speech, because end starts with a vowel sound. The last two words of many stories.
  • in the box The word sits in the middle, where it is said fastest and heard least. In and box sound out.
  • on the mat Another middle the. On and mat sound out. Ask what else something could sit on: on the bed, on the rug.
  • the owl Thee owl. Owl has the ow of cow and down.
  • the red bus Thuh. Red and bus sound out. Swap red for big or wet, or bus for van or hat, and read it again.
  • up the hill Up sounds out; hill doubles its last letter, the way bell and doll do.

Sentences to read and copy 12

  • The bell rang. 3 words. Bell doubles its l, and rang ends in the ng of sing.
  • The end. 2 words, the shortest line here. Let the child write it under a drawing or a story of their own.
  • The frog can hop. 4 words. The comes first, with a capital T. Can and hop sound out, and frog starts with the blend f-r.
  • He hid in the box. 5 words. He opens the line and hides again inside the, so the child sees the two side by side. Hid, in and box sound out.
  • I see the dog. 4 words. The sits third, right before the thing that is seen. See has a double e; dog sounds out.
  • Is the dog wet? 4 words and a question mark. Dog and wet sound out.
  • Look at the big bus. 5 words. At, big and bus sound out; look has the double o of book.
  • The owl is up. 4 words. Thee owl, because owl starts with a vowel sound. Up sounds out.
  • Pat the dog. 3 words. A command with the in the middle. Pat sounds out: p, a, t.
  • The pig is in the pen. 6 words, and 2 of them are the: one with a capital T and one without. Pig, in and pen sound out.
  • She has the egg. 4 words. Before egg the word is said thee in careful speech. The s in has sounds like a z.
  • We ran to the pond. 5 words. To the is a pair worth reading as one chunk. Ran and pond sound out, and pond ends in the blend n-d.

How this list was compiled: Every line was written for this site on 2026-09-18 and read aloud for sense. No line is taken from a published sight word list or workbook, and the page claims no list or grade level for the word. Spellings were checked against the macOS system word list on 2026-09-18. The counts in the spot-the-word rows and the word counts of the sentences were worked out. That the is said with a weak vowel before a consonant sound and as thee before a vowel sound, and that General American speech also allows the weak vowel before a vowel: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/the (pronunciation, checked 2026-09-18) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The (checked 2026-09-18). That the begins with the voiced th, as this, that, they and then do: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9 (checked 2026-09-18). Sound notes describe general American pronunciation. Licence: own work

How it works

The is the word a new reader meets most and can sound out least. This sight word the worksheet has the child trace it, circle it among they, then, he and them, and finish I see ___ dog.

Read the full guide

Why the will not sound out

Tap "the" out as t, h, e and you get tuh-huh-eh. The t and the h team up for one voiced sound, the buzz that also starts this, that, they and then. The e is no short e either. The Oxford English Corpus ranking on Wikipedia places "the" first among all English words, so it cannot wait for decoding. Teach it whole.

Five phrases said thee

Of the 11 phrases in the full list near the bottom of this page, 5 are said thee: the end, the egg, the ant, the apple, the owl. Read them aloud first, so the child hears thee while looking at the same three letters. Then read "the big dog" and "the red bus" for thuh.

  • Many children say vuh for the, because the buzzing th settles late. Correct the spelling, not the speech.
  • "He" hides inside "the". Cover the t and read "he". On the board, the row "he the she the he" drills that switch.
  • The h must reach the top line. A short stick turns it into an n, and the word into tne.

Questions and answers

Is the said thuh or thee?

Both. Careful speakers say thuh before a consonant sound (the dog) and thee before a vowel sound (the egg). Many Americans say thuh everywhere. One spelling covers both sounds, so a child needs no rule to read it.

Why does my student read the as they or then?

They, then and them begin with the same three letters. A child who reads only the front of a word cannot tell them apart. Write the row "the they then the" on the board. The child circles "the" only where nothing follows the e.

When does the need a capital T?

Only at the start of a sentence or in a title. 5 of the 12 sentences in the full list start with The, and only sentences can go on the sheet. Small t is crossed at the middle line, capital T on the top line.

More tools

Show 5 more

Browse Handwriting