Basic Details
Word: Consonant
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A speech sound made by partly or fully blocking the breath with the lips, teeth or tongue, and the letter that stands for it, such as b, k or t. The vowels a, e, i, o and u are not consonants.
Antonyms: vowel
How to Spell Consonant
Syllables: con - so - nant
Tricky part: It ends in ant, not ent, and the middle vowel is o. Said quickly it sounds like con-suh-nunt, which leads to consenant and consonent.
Watch out for: consonent, consenant, consanant
Memory tip: Read it as con + son + ant: a son and an ant are both hiding inside the word.
Usage Examples
Example 1: In Hindi, ka, kha and ga are among the first consonants children learn.
Example 2: A double consonant, as in letter and summer, often follows a short vowel sound.
Example 3: Every word in the tongue twister began with the same consonant, so we kept tripping over it.
Fun Fact
The English word strengths has nine letters but only one vowel, so eight of its letters are consonants.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
One word in the list is misspelt. Choose what that word means.
1. continent 2. convenient 3. consonent 4. conductor
a) one of the seven large land masses of the earth
b) a letter or speech sound that is not a vowel
c) suitable and easy to use or reach
d) a person who directs an orchestra or collects fares on a bus
Show answer
b) a letter or speech sound that is not a vowel. Consonant ends in ant, even though convenient and continent next to it end in ent.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
consonnant
a) a
b) n
c) o
d) s
Show answer
b) n. Only one n stands between the second o and the a: con-so-nant.
Mingle-Mangle
The jumbled word in the sentence hides a real word. Choose it:
The letter y works as a tnaonsnoc in yellow but as a vowel in gym.
a) constant
b) consultant
c) covenant
d) consonant
Show answer
d) consonant. The jumble has three n's and two o's, which fits consonant alone; constant is too short and consultant needs a u and an l.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which word begins with a consonant sound?
a) apple
b) hour
c) university
d) eagle
Show answer
c) university
2. Which group is made up only of consonants?
a) b, d, k, m
b) e, f, g, h
c) a, b, c, d
d) o, p, q, r
Show answer
a) b, d, k, m
