Phonics word list
Au words
In short
Au is a vowel team that spells /aw/, as in haul, sauce and August. Augh spells the same sound in caught and taught. Our checked list has 129 words with au or augh.
At a glance
- Words in our list
- 129
- By syllables
- one syllable: 44 · two syllables: 57 · three or more syllables: 28
- Taught in
- Lesson 93 in the sequence
Au words, most common first
Spelling units show how each word breaks into the letters that spell one sound; a_e is a vowel and silent e working together. Readable after is the first lesson where a student can sound out the whole word.
au (cause, fault)
| Word | Spelling units | Syllables | Readable after |
|---|---|---|---|
| cause | c·au·s·e | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| fault | f·au·l·t | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| pause | p·au·s·e | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| caused | c·au·s·ed | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| faults | f·au·l·t·s | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| author | au·th·or | 2 | Lesson 111 |
| autumn | au·t·u·m·n | 2 | Not in the sequence |
| causes | c·au·s·e·s | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| authors | au·th·or·s | 2 | Lesson 111 |
| because | b·e·c·au·s·e | 2 | Lesson 45 (heart word) |
| causing | c·au·s·i·ng | 2 | Lesson 109 |
| default | d·e·f·au·l·t | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| audience | au·d·i·e·n·c·e | 3 | Not in the sequence |
| automatic | au·t·o·m·a·t·i·c | 4 | Lesson 93 |
| automobile | au·t·o·m·o·b·i·l·e | 4 | Not in the sequence |
| aunt | au·n·t | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| baud | b·au·d | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| fraud | f·r·au·d | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| sauce | s·au·c·e | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| clause | c·l·au·s·e | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| launch | l·au·n·ch | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| paused | p·au·s·ed | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| launched | l·au·n·ch·ed | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| causal | c·au·s·a·l | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| faucet | f·au·c·e·t | 2 | Lesson 117 |
| faulty | f·au·l·t·y | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| pauses | p·au·s·e·s | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| assault | a·ss·au·l·t | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| caution | c·au·tion | 2 | Lesson 119 |
| clauses | c·l·au·s·e·s | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| exhaust | e·x·h·au·s·t | 2 | Not in the sequence |
| pausing | p·au·s·i·ng | 2 | Lesson 109 |
| applause | a·pp·l·au·s·e | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| defaults | d·e·f·au·l·t·s | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| exhausts | e·x·h·au·s·t·s | 2 | Not in the sequence |
| launches | l·au·n·ch·es | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| launching | l·au·n·ch·i·ng | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| automate | au·t·o·m·a_e·t | 3 | Lesson 93 |
| authentic | au·th·e·n·t·i·c | 3 | Lesson 93 |
| automates | au·t·o·m·a_e·t·s | 3 | Lesson 93 |
| exhausted | e·x·h·au·s·t·ed | 3 | Not in the sequence |
| plausible | p·l·au·s·i·b·le | 3 | Lesson 93 |
| exhausting | e·x·h·au·s·t·i·ng | 3 | Not in the sequence |
| exhaustive | e·x·h·au·s·t·i·v·e | 3 | Not in the sequence |
| precaution | p·r·e·c·au·tion | 3 | Lesson 119 |
| precautions | p·r·e·c·au·tion·s | 3 | Lesson 119 |
| audiences | au·d·i·e·n·c·e·s | 4 | Not in the sequence |
| automated | au·t·o·m·a·t·ed | 4 | Lesson 93 |
| causality | c·au·s·a·l·i·t·y | 4 | Lesson 94 |
| automating | au·t·o·m·a·t·i·ng | 4 | Lesson 109 |
| automobiles | au·t·o·m·o·b·i·l·e·s | 4 | Not in the sequence |
| implausible | i·m·p·l·au·s·i·b·le | 4 | Lesson 93 |
| autobiography | au·t·o·b·i·o·g·r·a·ph·y | 6 | Lesson 93 |
| daub | d·au·b | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| haul | h·au·l | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| laud | l·au·d | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| maul | m·au·l | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| taut | t·au·t | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| aunts | au·n·t·s | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| caulk | c·au·l·k | 1 | Not in the sequence |
augh (caught, taught)
| Word | Spelling units | Syllables | Readable after |
|---|---|---|---|
| caught | c·augh·t | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| taught | t·augh·t | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| naughty | n·augh·t·y | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| daughter | d·augh·t·er | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| fraught | f·r·augh·t | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| daughters | d·augh·t·er·s | 2 | Lesson 93 |
When do these words become readable?
The lessons where the most words on this page become decodable. Words marked not in the sequence have a spelling the sequence never teaches as a pattern.
| Readable after | Words |
|---|---|
| Lesson 93 | 96 |
| Lesson 94 | 1 |
| Lesson 109 | 5 |
| Lesson 110 | 1 |
| Lesson 111 | 4 |
| Lesson 117 | 4 |
| Lesson 119 | 6 |
| Not in the sequence | 12 |
How do you teach au words?
Teach au with aw. "Au and aw both say /aw/. Au is in the middle; aw is often at the end or before n or l." Read haul, fault, cause, sauce, then caught and taught with augh. The tables here keep au and augh in separate groups.
What mistake do students make with au words?
Students spell cause as cawz. Position helps: aw rarely comes before a single consonant other than n or l. Reading errors are rare once the team is known.
Where do au words come in the sequence?
Au, aw and augh are usually taught together in the second vowel team unit. In the sequence we use, the pattern is taught in Lesson 93.
Exceptions worth knowing
Laugh says /ă/. Aunt says /ă/ for most Americans. In words like because, au is often reduced.
Decodable sentences
Every word in these sentences can be read at Lesson 93 or earlier, or is a heart word taught by then.
- We caught a fish in the pond.
- It is not my fault.
- Pause the game.
Questions people ask
What are 5 au words?
What sound does au make?
When do you use au and when aw?
When can a student read au words?
How this list was built
Every word comes from our lexicon of common English words, each split into spelling units and checked against a pronouncing dictionary, so a word is listed under the sound its spelling really makes. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out. The readable after lesson comes from our decodability engine, which checks each spelling unit and syllable pattern against the lesson sequence. You can run your own text through the same engine with the free decodable text checker.