The Two Sounds of th

The digraph th makes two sounds, and both use your tongue peeking between your teeth. In 'thin', 'thumb', and 'bath', th is quiet: only air comes out. In 'this', 'that', and 'them', th buzzes: your voice turns on. Put your hand on your throat.

Say 'thin' and feel nothing. Say 'this' and feel a buzz. Both are spelled the same way, so if one sound doesn't make a real word, try the other. Read 'moth' with the quiet sound. Read 'then' with the buzzing sound.

• 1th has a quiet sound and a buzzing sound.
• 2Your tongue peeks out for both.
• 3If one sound doesn't make a word, try the other.