Phonics word list

Dge words

In short

Dge is a trigraph that spells /j/ right after a short vowel at the end of a syllable, as in bridge, badge and judge. The d is silent and the e keeps the g soft. Our checked list has 64 words with dge.

At a glance

Words in our list: 64
By syllables: one syllable: 36 · two syllables: 24 · three or more syllables: 4
By position: initial: 0 · medial: 38 · final: 26
Taught in: Lesson 70 in the sequence

Dge 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.

One syllable

36 words, most common first.

One syllable
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
edge	e·dge	1	Lesson 70
judge	j·u·dge	1	Lesson 70
bridge	b·r·i·dge	1	Lesson 70
badge	b·a·dge	1	Lesson 70
dodge	d·o·dge	1	Lesson 70
fudge	f·u·dge	1	Lesson 70
lodge	l·o·dge	1	Lesson 70
judged	j·u·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
budge	b·u·dge	1	Lesson 70
edged	e·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
hedge	h·e·dge	1	Lesson 70
ledge	l·e·dge	1	Lesson 70
nudge	n·u·dge	1	Lesson 70
ridge	r·i·dge	1	Lesson 70
wedge	w·e·dge	1	Lesson 70
budged	b·u·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
dodged	d·o·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
dredge	d·r·e·dge	1	Lesson 70
drudge	d·r·u·dge	1	Lesson 70
fudged	f·u·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
grudge	g·r·u·dge	1	Lesson 70
hedged	h·e·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
lodged	l·o·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
nudged	n·u·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
pledge	p·l·e·dge	1	Lesson 70
ridged	r·i·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
sludge	s·l·u·dge	1	Lesson 70
smudge	s·m·u·dge	1	Lesson 70
trudge	t·r·u·dge	1	Lesson 70
wedged	w·e·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
bridged	b·r·i·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
dredged	d·r·e·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
fledged	f·l·e·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
pledged	p·l·e·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
smudged	s·m·u·dge·d	1	Lesson 70
trudged	t·r·u·dge·d	1	Lesson 70

Two syllables

24 words, most common first.

Two syllables
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
knowledge	kn·o·w·l·e·dge	2	Not in the sequence
edges	e·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
judges	j·u·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
bridges	b·r·i·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
cartridge	c·ar·t·r·i·dge	2	Lesson 77
badges	b·a·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
dodges	d·o·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
hedges	h·e·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
ledges	l·e·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
lodges	l·o·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
nudges	n·u·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
ridges	r·i·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
wedges	w·e·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
dredges	d·r·e·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
grudges	g·r·u·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
pledges	p·l·e·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
trudges	t·r·u·dge·s	2	Lesson 70
dislodge	d·i·s·l·o·dge	2	Lesson 70
edgewise	e·dge·w·i_e·s	2	Lesson 70
hedgehog	h·e·dge·h·o·g	2	Lesson 70
dislodged	d·i·s·l·o·dge·d	2	Lesson 70
hedgehogs	h·e·dge·h·o·g·s	2	Lesson 70
partridge	p·ar·t·r·i·dge	2	Lesson 77
drawbridge	d·r·aw·b·r·i·dge	2	Lesson 93

Three or more syllables

4 words, most common first.

Three or more syllables
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
acknowledge	a·ck·n·o·w·l·e·dge	3	Not in the sequence
acknowledged	a·ck·n·o·w·l·e·dge·d	3	Not in the sequence
acknowledges	a·ck·n·o·w·l·e·dge·s	4	Not in the sequence
knowledgeable	kn·o·w·l·e·dge·a·b·le	4	Not in the sequence

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.

Lessons where the most words on this page become readable
Readable after	Words
Lesson 70	56
Lesson 77	2
Lesson 93	1
Not in the sequence	5

How do you teach dge words?

Pair dge with tch; they follow the same rule. "Short vowel, right next to the /j/? Use dge. Long vowel or a consonant before it? Use ge." Sort badge and cage, fudge and huge, bridge and hinge. Show why each letter is there: the d keeps the vowel short, the e makes the g say /j/.

What mistake do students make with dge words?

Students write ge (bage for badge) or j (baj). Ask, "Is the vowel short?" If yes, the d is needed so the vowel doesn't turn long. English words don't end in j, so a final /j/ is always ge or dge.

Where do dge words come in the sequence?

Dge is usually taught in the lesson right after tch, then reviewed together. In the sequence we use, the pattern is taught in Lesson 70.

Exceptions worth knowing

Words like knowledge and cartridge have dge after an unstressed syllable. In budget and judgment, dge drops to dg. Long vowels take ge (page, huge), and so do words with a consonant before /j/ (hinge, large).

Decodable sentences

Every word in these sentences can be read at Lesson 70 or earlier, or is a heart word taught by then.

The bridge is on the edge of the pond.
The judge had a badge.
Do not budge the fudge.

Questions people ask

What are 5 dge words?

Edge, judge, bridge, knowledge, badge. Those are the five most common of the 64 words with dge in our checked list.

When do you use dge instead of ge?

Use dge right after a short vowel: badge, edge, bridge. Use ge after a long vowel (cage) or a consonant (hinge).

Why is there a d in dge?

The d protects the short vowel. Without it, page and badge would follow the same pattern and the vowel would turn long.

When can a student read dge words?

Dge words are taught at Lesson 70 in the lesson sequence we use. 56 of the 64 words on this page can be sounded out by then; the rest wait for a pattern taught later, and the tables show the lesson for each word.

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.