The "th" sound — /ð/
As in feather. Tap play to hear the sound, see the mouth shape, and hear 15 example words.
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Grapheme — the letters
th
What a child sees written down and writes by hand.
Phoneme — the sound
/ð/
What a child hears and says out loud — written in IPA, the standard notation for sounds (not letter names).
Mouth shape
Tongue tip lightly between the teeth, voice on
Gesture
Put a finger on your throat, stick your tongue out a little and say th-th-th — feel the buzz
Words to read now
Every letter in these has been taught by this point in the teaching order, so your child can sound them out.
- this
- that
- then
- them
- than
- thus
Words to listen for the sound
You say these, your child listens for /ð/. They use letters or spellings not taught yet, so they’re not for reading.
- the
- those
- these
- mother
- father
- brother
- feather
- leather
- smooth
Teach the “th” sound: free printables
Two free PDFs made for this sound. Print them, or use the full lesson online with audio and games.
“th” practice sheetFor your child: trace, find the sound in pictures, read and match. Name & date on top. Download PDF
“th” lesson planFor you: a 10-minute lesson with what to say, the answer key and common mix-ups. Download PDFCompare: /ð/ vs /θ/
Same tongue between the teeth — the th in "this" just adds a buzz from your voice box.
Learn the “th” sound →How to teach the “th” sound
- Hear it first. Tap Play three times. Have your child watch your mouth while you copy the sound — no letter name yet, just the pure phoneme /ð/.
- Do the gesture. Put a finger on your throat, stick your tongue out a little and say th-th-th — feel the buzz— kids remember sounds 2× faster when there’s a physical action attached.
- Find it in words. Say a few example words aloud slowly, stretching the /ð/ sound: “t–h–i–s”.
- Spot it around the house. “Can you find something that starts with /ð/?” Aim for 3 wins in a row before stopping.
Related sounds in this unit
Turn this into a dated schedule
Pick a start date and a pace, and get all 44 sounds laid out as dated sessions — free to preview, downloadable as a calendar.
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ABC Phonics — Sounds for Kids