Phonics word list

Tion words

In short

Tion is an ending that says /shun/, as in nation, action and station. It is one of the most common endings in English. Our checked list has 569 words where tion says /shun/.

At a glance

Words in our list: 569
By syllables: one syllable: 0 · two syllables: 36 · three or more syllables: 533
Taught in: Lesson 119 in the sequence

Tion 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.

Two syllables

36 words, most common first.

Two syllables
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
action	a·c·tion	2	Lesson 119
motion	m·o·tion	2	Lesson 119
nation	n·a·tion	2	Lesson 119
option	o·p·tion	2	Lesson 119
actions	a·c·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
mention	m·e·n·tion	2	Lesson 119
options	o·p·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
section	s·e·c·tion	2	Lesson 119
station	s·t·a·tion	2	Lesson 119
fraction	f·r·a·c·tion	2	Lesson 119
function	f·u·n·c·tion	2	Lesson 119
mentions	m·e·n·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
sections	s·e·c·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
stations	s·t·a·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
functions	f·u·n·c·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
mentioned	m·e·n·tion·ed	2	Lesson 119
notion	n·o·tion	2	Lesson 119
caution	c·au·tion	2	Lesson 119
fiction	f·i·c·tion	2	Lesson 119
motions	m·o·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
nations	n·a·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
notions	n·o·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
portion	p·or·tion	2	Lesson 119
friction	f·r·i·c·tion	2	Lesson 119
junction	j·u·n·c·tion	2	Lesson 119
portions	p·or·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
fractions	f·r·a·c·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
functioned	f·u·n·c·tion·ed	2	Lesson 119
cautions	c·au·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
fictions	f·i·c·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
motioned	m·o·tion·ed	2	Lesson 119
optioned	o·p·tion·ed	2	Lesson 119
cautioned	c·au·tion·ed	2	Lesson 119
junctions	j·u·n·c·tion·s	2	Lesson 119
sectioned	s·e·c·tion·ed	2	Lesson 119
stationed	s·t·a·tion·ed	2	Lesson 119

Three or more syllables

The 60 most common of 533 words. 473 more are in our list.

Three or more syllables
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
edition	e·d·i·tion	3	Lesson 119
addition	a·dd·i·tion	3	Lesson 119
creation	c·r·e·a·tion	3	Lesson 119
election	e·l·e·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
location	l·o·c·a·tion	3	Lesson 119
national	n·a·tion·a·l	3	Lesson 119
optional	o·p·tion·a·l	3	Lesson 119
position	p·o·s·i·tion	3	Lesson 119
reaction	r·e·a·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
relation	r·e·l·a·tion	3	Lesson 119
solution	s·o·l·u·tion	3	Lesson 119
vacation	v·a·c·a·tion	3	Lesson 119
attention	a·tt·e·n·tion	3	Lesson 119
condition	c·o·n·d·i·tion	3	Lesson 119
direction	d·ir·e·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
exception	e·xc·e·p·tion	3	Not in the sequence
locations	l·o·c·a·tion·s	3	Lesson 119
objection	o·b·j·e·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
positions	p·o·s·i·tion·s	3	Lesson 119
reception	r·e·c·e·p·tion	3	Lesson 119
reduction	r·e·d·u·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
selection	s·e·l·e·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
solutions	s·o·l·u·tion·s	3	Lesson 119
vacations	v·a·c·a·tion·s	3	Lesson 119
assumption	a·ss·u·m·p·tion	3	Lesson 119
collection	c·o·ll·e·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
conditions	c·o·n·d·i·tion·s	3	Lesson 119
connection	c·o·nn·e·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
convention	c·o·n·v·e·n·tion	3	Lesson 119
correction	c·orr·e·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
directions	d·ir·e·c·tion·s	3	Lesson 119
exceptions	e·xc·e·p·tion·s	3	Not in the sequence
mentioning	m·e·n·tion·i·ng	3	Lesson 119
objections	o·b·j·e·c·tion·s	3	Lesson 119
production	p·r·o·d·u·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
proportion	p·r·o·p·or·tion	3	Lesson 119
protection	p·r·o·t·e·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
reflection	r·e·f·l·e·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
connections	c·o·nn·e·c·tion·s	3	Lesson 119
consumption	c·o·n·s·u·m·p·tion	3	Lesson 119
conventions	c·o·n·v·e·n·tion·s	3	Lesson 119
description	d·e·s·c·r·i·p·tion	3	Lesson 119
distinction	d·i·s·t·i·n·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
instruction	i·n·s·t·r·u·c·tion	3	Lesson 119
translation	t·r·a·n·s·l·a·tion	3	Lesson 119
descriptions	d·e·s·c·r·i·p·tion·s	3	Lesson 119
instructions	i·n·s·t·r·u·c·tion·s	3	Lesson 119
operation	o·p·er·a·tion	4	Lesson 119
situation	s·i·t·u·a·tion	4	Not in the sequence
variation	v·a·r·i·a·tion	4	Not in the sequence
additional	a·dd·i·tion·a·l	4	Lesson 119
definition	d·e·f·i·n·i·tion	4	Lesson 119
dictionary	d·i·c·tion·a·r·y	4	Not in the sequence
generation	g·e·n·er·a·tion	4	Lesson 119
indication	i·n·d·i·c·a·tion	4	Lesson 119
invitation	i·n·v·i·t·a·tion	4	Lesson 119
operations	o·p·er·a·tion·s	4	Lesson 119
opposition	o·pp·o·s·i·tion	4	Lesson 119
population	p·o·p·u·l·a·tion	4	Not in the sequence
regulation	r·e·g·u·l·a·tion	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 119	509
Lesson 123	1
Not in the sequence	59

How do you teach tion words?

Teach tion as a chunk. "Tion says /shun/." Read action, motion, nation, station, then longer words (education, information). Have the student cover tion, read the rest, then add the ending. Point out that tion often turns a verb into a noun (act, action).

What mistake do students make with tion words?

Students read tion as /tī-ŏn/. Cover the chunk and show it on a card. In spelling, they write shun. Teach tion as the default, with sion for some words.

Where do tion words come in the sequence?

Tion is usually taught with sion, near the end of the phonics sequence. In the sequence we use, the pattern is taught in Lesson 119.

Exceptions worth knowing

Question and digestion have tion saying /chun/ after s. Cushion and fashion spell /shun/ with shion.

Decodable sentences

Every word in these sentences can be read at Lesson 119 or earlier, or is a heart word taught by then.

The nation had an election.
Take action at the station.
Mention the station.

Questions people ask

What are 5 tion words?

Action, motion, nation, option, actions. Those are the five most common of the 569 words where tion says /shun/ in our checked list.

What sound does tion make?

/shun/ as in nation. After s (question), it says /chun/.

How do you know whether to write tion or sion?

Tion is more common. Sion often follows l, n or s (tension, mansion), or says /zhun/ (vision).

When can a student read tion words?

Tion words are taught at Lesson 119 in the lesson sequence we use. 509 of the 569 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.