Phonics word list

Long i words

In short

Long i is the vowel sound in kite, night, my and pie, written /ī/. English spells it i_e, igh, y, ie, and i in open syllables or before nd and ld. Our checked list has 1,628 words with the long i sound.

At a glance

Words in our list: 1,628
By syllables: one syllable: 373 · two syllables: 745 · three or more syllables: 510
Taught in: Lesson 87 in the sequence

Long i 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.

i on its own (i, bind)

The 40 most common of 650 words. 610 more are in our list.

i on its own (i, bind)
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
i	i	1	Lesson 3 (heart word)
bind	b·i·n·d	1	Lesson 72
died	d·i·ed	1	Lesson 87
find	f·i·n·d	1	Lesson 72
kind	k·i·n·d	1	Lesson 72
lied	l·i·ed	1	Lesson 87
mind	m·i·n·d	1	Lesson 72
pint	p·i·n·t	1	Lesson 68
sign	s·i·gn	1	Lesson 118
tied	t·i·ed	1	Lesson 87
wild	w·i·l·d	1	Lesson 72
binds	b·i·n·d·s	1	Lesson 72
child	ch·i·l·d	1	Lesson 72
finds	f·i·n·d·s	1	Lesson 72
grind	g·r·i·n·d	1	Lesson 72
kinds	k·i·n·d·s	1	Lesson 72
liked	l·i·k·ed	1	Lesson 64
minds	m·i·n·d·s	1	Lesson 72
signs	s·i·gn·s	1	Lesson 118
tried	t·r·i·ed	1	Lesson 110
grinds	g·r·i·n·d·s	1	Lesson 72
signed	s·i·gn·ed	1	Lesson 118
whilst	wh·i·l·s·t	1	Lesson 68
item	i·t·e·m	2	Lesson 68
final	f·i·n·a·l	2	Lesson 68
ideal	i·d·ea·l	2	Lesson 85
items	i·t·e·m·s	2	Lesson 68
minor	m·i·n·or	2	Lesson 111
nicer	n·i·c·er	2	Lesson 109
prior	p·r·i·or	2	Lesson 111
quiet	qu·i·e·t	2	Lesson 68
title	t·i·t·le	2	Lesson 75
trial	t·r·i·a·l	2	Lesson 68
vital	v·i·t·a·l	2	Lesson 68
wider	w·i·d·er	2	Lesson 80
behind	b·e·h·i·n·d	2	Lesson 72
biting	b·i·t·i·ng	2	Lesson 109
crisis	c·r·i·s·i·s	2	Lesson 68
design	d·e·s·i·gn	2	Lesson 118
driver	d·r·i·v·er	2	Lesson 80

i_e (ice, bite)

The 40 most common of 590 words. 550 more are in our list.

i_e (ice, bite)
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
ice	i_e·c	1	Lesson 60
bite	b·i_e·t	1	Lesson 55
file	f·i_e·l	1	Lesson 55
fine	f·i_e·n	1	Lesson 55
fire	f·i_e·r	1	Lesson 55
five	f·i_e·v	1	Lesson 55
hide	h·i_e·d	1	Lesson 55
life	l·i_e·f	1	Lesson 55
like	l·i_e·k	1	Lesson 55
line	l·i_e·n	1	Lesson 55
live	l·i_e·v	1	Lesson 37a (heart word)
mile	m·i_e·l	1	Lesson 55
mine	m·i_e·n	1	Lesson 55
nice	n·i_e·c	1	Lesson 60
nine	n·i_e·n	1	Lesson 55
pile	p·i_e·l	1	Lesson 55
pipe	p·i_e·p	1	Lesson 55
ride	r·i_e·d	1	Lesson 55
rise	r·i_e·s	1	Lesson 55
side	s·i_e·d	1	Lesson 55
site	s·i_e·t	1	Lesson 55
size	s·i_e·z	1	Lesson 55
time	t·i_e·m	1	Lesson 55
vice	v·i_e·c	1	Lesson 60
wide	w·i_e·d	1	Lesson 55
wife	w·i_e·f	1	Lesson 55
wire	w·i_e·r	1	Lesson 55
wise	w·i_e·s	1	Lesson 55
bites	b·i_e·t·s	1	Lesson 55
drive	d·r·i_e·v	1	Lesson 55
filed	f·i_e·l·d	1	Lesson 64
files	f·i_e·l·s	1	Lesson 55
guide	gu·i_e·d	1	Not in the sequence
hides	h·i_e·d·s	1	Lesson 55
likes	l·i_e·k·s	1	Lesson 55
lines	l·i_e·n·s	1	Lesson 55
lived	l·i_e·v·d	1	Lesson 64
lives	l·i_e·v·s	1	Lesson 37a
miles	m·i_e·l·s	1	Lesson 55
price	p·r·i_e·c	1	Lesson 60

igh (high, fight)

The 40 most common of 154 words. 114 more are in our list.

igh (high, fight)
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
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
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
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

y (by, my)

The 40 most common of 175 words. 135 more are in our list.

y (by, my)
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
by	b·y	1	Lesson 28 (heart word)
my	m·y	1	Lesson 28 (heart word)
cry	c·r·y	1	Lesson 73
dry	d·r·y	1	Lesson 73
fly	f·l·y	1	Lesson 73
fry	f·r·y	1	Lesson 73
guy	gu·y	1	Not in the sequence
try	t·r·y	1	Lesson 73
why	wh·y	1	Lesson 73
byte	b·y·t·e	1	Lesson 73
type	t·y·p·e	1	Lesson 73
bytes	b·y·t·e·s	1	Lesson 73
style	s·t·y·l·e	1	Lesson 73
typed	t·y·p·ed	1	Lesson 73
types	t·y·p·e·s	1	Lesson 73
rely	r·e·l·y	2	Lesson 73
apply	a·pp·l·y	2	Lesson 73
cycle	c·y·c·le	2	Lesson 117
dying	d·y·i·ng	2	Lesson 109
imply	i·m·p·l·y	2	Lesson 73
lying	l·y·i·ng	2	Lesson 109
reply	r·e·p·l·y	2	Lesson 73
tying	t·y·i·ng	2	Lesson 73
cycles	c·y·c·le·s	2	Lesson 117
flying	f·l·y·i·ng	2	Lesson 73
hereby	h·e·r·e·b·y	2	Lesson 73
myself	m·y·s·e·l·f	2	Lesson 67a
nearby	n·ear·b·y	2	Lesson 113
supply	s·u·pp·l·y	2	Lesson 73
trying	t·r·y·i·ng	2	Lesson 73
typing	t·y·p·i·ng	2	Lesson 109
thereby	th·e·r·e·b·y	2	Lesson 67a
whereby	wh·e·r·e·b·y	2	Lesson 67a
modify	m·o·d·i·f·y	3	Lesson 73
notify	n·o·t·i·f·y	3	Lesson 73
occupy	o·cc·u·p·y	3	Not in the sequence
clarify	c·l·a·r·i·f·y	3	Not in the sequence
justify	j·u·s·t·i·f·y	3	Lesson 73
qualify	qu·a·l·i·f·y	3	Lesson 94
satisfy	s·a·t·i·s·f·y	3	Lesson 73

ie (die, lie)

The 40 most common of 59 words. 19 more are in our list.

ie (die, lie)
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
die	d·ie	1	Lesson 87
lie	l·ie	1	Lesson 87
tie	t·ie	1	Lesson 87
dies	d·ie·s	1	Lesson 87
lies	l·ie·s	1	Lesson 87
ties	t·ie·s	1	Lesson 87
flies	f·l·ie·s	1	Lesson 110
fries	f·r·ie·s	1	Lesson 110
tries	t·r·ie·s	1	Lesson 110
applies	a·pp·l·ie·s	2	Lesson 110
implies	i·m·p·l·ie·s	2	Lesson 110
replies	r·e·p·l·ie·s	2	Lesson 110
supplies	s·u·pp·l·ie·s	2	Lesson 110
modifies	m·o·d·i·f·ie·s	3	Lesson 110
occupies	o·cc·u·p·ie·s	3	Not in the sequence
justifies	j·u·s·t·i·f·ie·s	3	Lesson 110
qualifies	qu·a·l·i·f·ie·s	3	Lesson 110
satisfies	s·a·t·i·s·f·ie·s	3	Lesson 110
specifies	s·p·e·c·i·f·ie·s	3	Lesson 117
pie	p·ie	1	Lesson 87
cries	c·r·ie·s	1	Lesson 110
dries	d·r·ie·s	1	Lesson 110
spies	s·p·ie·s	1	Lesson 110
allies	a·ll·ie·s	2	Lesson 110
denies	d·e·n·ie·s	2	Lesson 110
relies	r·e·l·ie·s	2	Lesson 110
scientists	sc·ie·n·t·i·s·t·s	2	Not in the sequence
notifies	n·o·t·i·f·ie·s	3	Lesson 110
underlie	u·n·d·er·l·ie	3	Lesson 87
verifies	v·e·r·i·f·ie·s	3	Lesson 110
clarifies	c·l·a·r·i·f·ie·s	3	Not in the sequence
hierarchy	h·ie·r·ar·ch·y	3	Lesson 118
rectifies	r·e·c·t·i·f·ie·s	3	Lesson 110
terrifies	t·e·rr·i·f·ie·s	3	Lesson 110
underlies	u·n·d·er·l·ie·s	3	Lesson 87
classifies	c·l·a·ss·i·f·ie·s	3	Lesson 110
multiplies	m·u·l·t·i·p·l·ie·s	3	Lesson 110
simplifies	s·i·m·p·l·i·f·ie·s	3	Lesson 110
unjustified	u·n·j·u·s·t·i·f·ie·d	4	Lesson 87
unspecified	u·n·s·p·e·c·i·f·ie·d	4	Lesson 117

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 55	171
Lesson 67b	114
Lesson 68	147
Lesson 73	115
Lesson 80	112
Lesson 87	149
Lesson 109	112
Lesson 110	91
Not in the sequence	84

How do you teach long i words?

Teach the spellings by position. I_e in the middle (bike), y at the end of a short word (my, cry), igh in the middle or end (night, high), ie at the end of a few short words (pie, tie). The open i (tiger, silent) and the -ind, -ild words (find, child) come with their own lessons.

What mistake do students make with long i words?

In spelling, students choose y in the middle (nyt) or igh at the start. A position chart fixes most of it. In reading, igh is sometimes sounded out letter by letter; teach it as one unit with a card.

Where do long i words come in the sequence?

I_e comes first with silent e. Then the -ind and -ild words, y as /ī/, and later igh and ie as vowel teams. In the sequence we use, the pattern is taught in Lesson 87.

Exceptions worth knowing

Eye and buy are common words with unusual spellings for /ī/. Height spells it with ei.

Decodable sentences

Every word in these sentences can be read at Lesson 87 or earlier, or is a heart word taught by then.

My kite is high in the sky.
I like the pie.
Find the light at night.

Questions people ask

What are 5 long i words?

I, by, my, cry, die. Those are the five most common of the 1,628 words with the long i sound in our checked list.

What are the ways to spell long i?

I_e (bike), igh (night), y (my), ie (pie) and i in an open syllable or before -nd and -ld (tiger, find, child).

When is y a long i?

When y ends a short word like my, cry or fly, and in a few longer words with stress on that syllable (reply).

When can a student read long i words?

Long i words are taught at Lesson 87 in the lesson sequence we use. 1,113 of the 1,628 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.