What does typhoon mean?
Word: Typhoon
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Typhoon means a very large storm with fierce winds that forms over warm seas, mainly around eastern Asia.
How do you spell typhoon?
Syllables: ty - phoon
Tricky part: The f sound in the middle is not spelt with an f. Two letters, p and h, do that job.
Watch out for: tyfoon, typfoon, typphoon
Memory tip: Picture a Powerful Howling storm: P and H together make the f sound.
Typhoon in a sentence
Example 1: The ferry to the island was cancelled as a typhoon approached.
Example 2: Satellite pictures showed the typhoon turning north, away from the coast.
Example 3: During the typhoon season, weather reports in Manila are watched closely.
Fun Fact
The word has a tangled story. English seems to have got it partly from Arabic through Portuguese, and partly from a Chinese phrase meaning 'big wind'.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
t_pho_n
a) y, o
b) y, u
c) i, u
d) i, o
Show answer
a) y, o. The long i sound is a y here, and the next vowel doubles.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Weather scientists at the station in Tokyo followed the typhoone closely as it moved slowly across the wide Pacific.
a) typhoone
b) scientists
c) station
d) Pacific
Show answer
a) typhoone. No e follows the final n.
Mingle-Mangle
The jumbled word in the sentence hides a real word. Choose it:
Fishing boats stayed in harbour while the yohtnop crossed the open sea.
a) tycoon
b) lagoon
c) typhoon
d) python
Show answer
c) typhoon. The jumble has a p, an h and two o's: tycoon has a c, python one o and lagoon no y.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. cyclon 2. monsoon 3. typhoon 4. tornado
a) a powerful Pacific storm of the kind that reaches Japan
b) a spinning storm of the kind seen in the Bay of Bengal
c) a seasonal wind that brings heavy summer rain to India
d) a narrow, spinning column of air over land
Show answer
b) a spinning storm of the kind seen in the Bay of Bengal. Cyclone keeps an e after the n, which this list leaves off.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which pair of countries hears typhoon warnings on the news most often?
a) the Philippines and Japan
b) Egypt and Sudan
c) Norway and Sweden
d) Nepal and Bhutan
Show answer
a) the Philippines and Japan
2. What gives a storm of this kind its energy?
a) thin, frozen air high on a mountain
b) cold, dry air sinking over ice
c) still, dusty air across a desert
d) warm, moist air rising off the sea
Show answer
d) warm, moist air rising off the sea
