Nonsense Words

As part of our Read Write Inc Phonic scheme you might hear your child talking about "nonsense words"—often affectionately called "alien words".

These are made-up words (like zep, veng, or blish) that feature a little picture of an alien next to them, so children know they aren't real words. Nonsense words are an incredibly valuable tool in early reading because a child cannot guess them based on memory or context; they can only read them by accurately tracking and decoding the letters.

Using our trusted "Fred Talk" technique, the children learn to spot any "Special Friends" (two or three letters making one sound, like sh or igh), sound out each individual element, and blend them together to read the word.

This fun, low-stakes practice builds pure decoding skills, prevents guessing habits, and ensures our Year 1 pupils feel completely confident when they encounter these alien words during the statutory national phonics screening check.

Your child will be practising reading these words to help develop their blending and decoding fluency in class. 

You will find below examples of nonsense words for each set of sounds we follow in our RWI lessons. 

Please practise them as often as you like, for short sharp bursts, but don't try to write them – they are purely for reading purposes.