Phonics word list
Igh words
In short
Igh is a three-letter vowel team that spells long i, /ī/, as in night, high and light. The g and h are silent. Our checked list has 158 words where igh says /ī/.
At a glance
- Words in our list
- 158
- By syllables
- one syllable: 34 · two syllables: 101 · three or more syllables: 23
- Taught in
- Lesson 87 in the sequence
Igh 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
| Word | Spelling units | Syllables | Readable after |
|---|---|---|---|
| high | h·igh | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| fight | f·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| light | l·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| might | m·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| night | n·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| right | r·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| sight | s·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| tight | t·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| bright | b·r·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| flight | f·l·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| lights | l·igh·t·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| rights | r·igh·t·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| slight | s·l·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| sigh | s·igh | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| fights | f·igh·t·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| height | h·e·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| knight | kn·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 98 |
| nights | n·igh·t·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| sights | s·igh·t·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| heights | h·e·igh·t·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| nigh | n·igh | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| highs | h·igh·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| sighs | s·igh·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| thigh | th·igh | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| blight | b·l·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| fright | f·r·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| plight | p·l·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| sighed | s·igh·ed | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| thighs | th·igh·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| tights | t·igh·t·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| wright | wr·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 98 |
| flights | f·l·igh·t·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| knights | kn·igh·t·s | 1 | Lesson 98 |
| slights | s·l·igh·t·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
Two syllables
| Word | Spelling units | Syllables | Readable after |
|---|---|---|---|
| higher | h·igh·er | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| highly | h·igh·l·y | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| highest | h·igh·e·s·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| tonight | t·o·n·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| midnight | m·i·d·n·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| slightly | s·l·igh·t·l·y | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| mighty | m·igh·t·y | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| delight | d·e·l·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| fighter | f·igh·t·er | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| highway | h·igh·w·ay | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| insight | i·n·s·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| lighted | l·igh·t·ed | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| lighter | l·igh·t·er | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| lightly | l·igh·t·l·y | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| rightly | r·igh·t·l·y | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| sighted | s·igh·t·ed | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| tightly | t·igh·t·l·y | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| upright | u·p·r·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| brighter | b·r·igh·t·er | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| brightly | b·r·igh·t·l·y | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| daylight | d·ay·l·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| delights | d·e·l·igh·t·s | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| fighting | f·igh·t·i·ng | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| frighten | f·r·igh·t·e·n | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| highways | h·igh·w·ay·s | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| lightest | l·igh·t·e·s·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| lighting | l·igh·t·i·ng | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| outright | ou·t·r·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 96 |
| sighting | s·igh·t·i·ng | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| sunlight | s·u·n·l·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| brightest | b·r·igh·t·e·s·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| downright | d·ow·n·r·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 96 |
| fortnight | f·or·t·n·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| frightens | f·r·igh·t·e·n·s | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| highlight | h·igh·l·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| hindsight | h·i·n·d·s·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| lightning | l·igh·t·n·i·ng | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| nightmare | n·igh·t·m·are | 2 | Lesson 112 |
| slightest | s·l·igh·t·e·s·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| brightness | b·r·igh·t·n·e·ss | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| frightened | f·r·igh·t·e·n·ed | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| highlights | h·igh·l·igh·t·s | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| lightnings | l·igh·t·n·i·ng·s | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| flighty | f·l·igh·t·y | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| nightly | n·igh·t·l·y | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| righted | r·igh·t·ed | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| righter | r·igh·t·er | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| sighing | s·igh·i·ng | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| tighter | t·igh·t·er | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| uptight | u·p·t·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| airtight | air·t·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 112 |
| blighted | b·l·igh·t·ed | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| fighters | f·igh·t·er·s | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| highbrow | h·igh·b·r·ow | 2 | Lesson 96 |
| insights | i·n·s·igh·t·s | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| knighted | kn·igh·t·ed | 2 | Lesson 98 |
| lighters | l·igh·t·er·s | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| rightful | r·igh·t·f·u·l | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| skylight | s·k·y·l·igh·t | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| slighted | s·l·igh·t·ed | 2 | Lesson 87 |
Three or more syllables
| Word | Spelling units | Syllables | Readable after |
|---|---|---|---|
| copyright | c·o·p·y·r·igh·t | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| delighted | d·e·l·igh·t·ed | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| enlighten | e·n·l·igh·t·e·n | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| overnight | o·v·er·n·igh·t | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| delightful | d·e·l·igh·t·f·u·l | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| delighting | d·e·l·igh·t·i·ng | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| enlightens | e·n·l·igh·t·e·n·s | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| enlightened | e·n·l·igh·t·e·n·ed | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| frightening | f·r·igh·t·e·n·i·ng | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| highlighted | h·igh·l·igh·t·ed | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| highlighting | h·igh·l·igh·t·i·ng | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| enlightening | e·n·l·igh·t·e·n·i·ng | 4 | Lesson 87 |
| enlightenment | e·n·l·igh·t·e·n·m·e·n·t | 4 | Lesson 87 |
| mightier | m·igh·t·i·er | 3 | Lesson 110 |
| flightier | f·l·igh·t·i·er | 3 | Lesson 110 |
| mightiest | m·igh·t·i·e·s·t | 3 | Lesson 110 |
| copyrights | c·o·p·y·r·igh·t·s | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| flightiest | f·l·igh·t·i·e·s·t | 3 | Lesson 110 |
| rightfully | r·igh·t·f·u·ll·y | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| fortnightly | f·or·t·n·igh·t·l·y | 3 | Lesson 87 |
| nightmarish | n·igh·t·m·a·r·i·sh | 3 | Lesson 122 |
| copyrighted | c·o·p·y·r·igh·t·ed | 4 | Lesson 87 |
| frighteningly | f·r·igh·t·e·n·i·ng·l·y | 4 | Lesson 87 |
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 87 | 127 |
| Lesson 89 | 2 |
| Lesson 94 | 3 |
| Lesson 96 | 5 |
| Lesson 98 | 7 |
| Lesson 110 | 4 |
| Lesson 112 | 3 |
| Lesson 113 | 2 |
| Not in the sequence | 2 |
How do you teach igh words?
Teach igh as one unit with a card. "Three letters, one sound: /ī/." Read high, sigh, night, light, right, fight. Build families: -ight words share a rhyme and come up constantly. Practice the -ight family in sentences, since it is one of the most common chunks in early text.
What mistake do students make with igh words?
Students try to sound out g and h. Cover them and say, "These two are quiet. Igh says /ī/." In spelling, gh gets left out (nit or nite for night). The -ight family card helps.
Where do igh words come in the sequence?
Igh is taught with ie, after the long a, e and o teams. In the sequence we use, the pattern is taught in Lesson 87.
Exceptions worth knowing
Height and sleight spell /ī/ with eigh. Eight and weigh use eigh for /ā/, which is easy to confuse.
Decodable sentences
Every word in these sentences can be read at Lesson 87 or earlier, or is a heart word taught by then.
- The light is bright at night.
- Fight with all your might.
- The kite is high.
Questions people ask
What are 5 igh words?
Is igh a trigraph?
What are common igh words?
When can a student read igh 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.