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Digraphs and trigraphs, also known as letter teams are formations where two or three Alphablocks stick together horizontally to make a new sound together. This enables them to make words that they couldn't with standalone letters.
Here is a list of letter teams that are formed in Alphablocks, as well as some that aren't in the show.
In the show[]
a[]
ae[]
IPA: /eɪ/
This digraph only appears in the interactive version of Space and in a YouTube video.
It is formed when A and E stick together, and makes the Long A sound.
It can also make the /i/ sound, as in "aeon" and "larvae".
ai[]
IPA: /eɪ/
This digraph is mainly focused on in the episodes Sail, Train and Name.
It is formed when A and I stick together, and makes the Long A sound.
air[]
IPA: /ɛə/ or /ɛɚ/
This trigraph is mainly focused on in the episode Fair.
It is formed when A, I and R stick together. The trigraph by itself is also a word, which is acknowledged by the trigraph.
ar[]
IPA: /ɑː(ɹ)/
This digraph is mainly focused on in the episode Card.
It is formed when A and R stick together, and its sound is R's name pronounciation.
au[]
IPA: /ɔː/ or /ɒː/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Outlaw.
It is formed when A and U stick together, and it shares sounds with AW.
aw[]
IPA: /ɔː/ or /ɒː/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Outlaw.
It is formed when A and W stick together, and it shares sounds with AU.
ay[]
IPA: /eɪ/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Name.
It is formed when A and Y stick together.
a_e[]
IPA: /eɪ/
This is mainly focused in the episode Name and Space.
A and Magic E form this, and they say A's name.
A_E is the first split digraph in the series.
c[]
ch[]
IPA: /tʃ/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Cha Cha Cha, Champ, and Shop.
It is formed when C and H stick together.
It can also make the /k/ sound as in "Chris", and the /ʃ/ sound as in "chic".
ck[]
IPA: /k/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Key and Kick.
It is formed when C and K stick together.
d[]
dd[]
IPA: /d/
This digraph only appears at the beginning and end of Odd.
It is formed when two D's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone D.
e[]
ea[]
IPA: /iː/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Sleep.
It is formed when E and A stick together, and it sounds like E's name.
It can also make the /eɪ/ sound as in "great", and the /ɛ/ sound as in "bread".
ear[]
IPA: /ɪə/ or /ɪɚ/
This trigraph is mainly focused on in the episode Fair.
It is formed when E, A and R stick together, and can make words like "ear", "hear" and "near".
Other common "-ear" trigraph words are "bear", "pear", and "wear", where the sound this trigraph makes in them is pronounced /ɛɚ/ (like AIR) rather than /ɪɚ/, so although EAR doesn't make that sound yet, it could still be a possibility.
ee[]
IPA: /iː/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Bee, Beep and Sleep.
It is formed when two E's stick together, and it sounds like E's name.
er[]
IPA: /ɜː/ or /ɚ/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Fair.
It is formed when E and R stick together.
ew[]
IPA: /juː/ or /uː/
This digraph is mainly focused in on Blue, and only appears in this episode.
It is formed when E and W stick together.
ey[]
IPA: /iː/
This digraph only appears in Key, where K and the digraph spell the namesake object.
It is formed when E and Y stick together, and it sounds like E's name.
It can also make the /eɪ/ sound, as in "hey".
e_e[]
IPA: /iː/
This is mainly focused in the episode Sleep.
A normal and magic E form this, and they say E's name.
E_E is hardly mentioned in the series, due to it usually being used in big words.
f[]
ff[]
IPA: /f/
This digraph is mainly focused on in the episode Hill.
It is formed when two F's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone F.
g[]
gg[]
IPA: /ɡ/
This digraph only appears in the episode Fair to spell "bigger". GG also appears in E's episode in Alphablocks Word Magic, where E spells with them to spell "egg".
It is formed when two G's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone G.
i[]
ie[]
IPA: /aɪ/ or /iː/
This digraph is mainly focused on Mine.
It is formed when I and E stick together, and it can make the Long I sound.
IE can also be used at the end of words where it makes the Long E sound (as in "piece"), but the digraph in Alphablocks hasn't made that sound as of now.
ig[]
igh[]
IPA: /aɪ/
This trigraph is mainly focused on in Tightrope and Mine.
It is formed when I, G and H stick together, and it can make the Long-I sound. It is the only trigraph to be shown in an interactive adaptation of an episode.
ir[]
IPA: /ɜː/ or /ɚ/
This digraph only appears in Birthday Girl.
It is formed when I and R stick together.
i_e[]
IPA: /aɪ/, /ɛ/, and /i:/
This is mainly focused in the episodes Mine and Hide.
I and Magic E form this, and they say I's name.
This has the most sounds out of any split digraph, at three. Although, they only say a long I sound. The short E sound is found in words like "feminine", and the long E sound is found in words like "petite".
l[]
ll[]
IPA: /l/
This digraph is mainly focused on in the episode Hill.
It is formed when two L's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone L.
n[]
ng[]
IPA: /ŋ/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Song.
It is formed when N and G stick together. There used to be a letter called "eng" (ŋ) representing its sound which is currently used in the IPA.
nk[]
IPA: /ŋk/
This digraph only appears in Think.
It is formed when N and K stick together.
Before Series 6, NK was considered a letter blend, as seen in Ink and Prank.
nn[]
IPA: /n/
This digraph only appears in Fair where it spells "thinner".
It is formed when two N's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone N.
o[]
oa[]
IPA: /əʊ/ or /oʊ/ (some dialects)
This digraph is mainly focused on in Toad and Home.
It is formed when O and A stick together, and it can make the Long-O sound. They cannot speak other than their sound due to O being part of the digraph. However, A is still able to speak properly by herself while part of the digraph as seen in Home, though this is probably so that A can still explain the digraph in song to the viewer.
oar[]
IPA: /ɔ:(ɹ)/ or /o:(ɹ)/
This trigraph only appears in UFO.
It is formed when O, A and R stick together, and they cannot speak other than their sound due to O being part of the trigraph. They are one of the few trigraphs to spell solo to make a word.
oe[]
IPA: /əʊ/ or /oʊ/ (some dialects)
This digraph is mainly focused on in Home, and only appears in this episode.
It is formed when O and E stick together, and it can make the Long-O sound. They cannot speak other than their sound due to O being part of the digraph. However, E is still able to speak properly by himself while part of the digraph as seen in Home, though this is probably so that E can still explain the digraph in song to the viewer.
It can also make the /iː/ sound, as in "foetus" (although the digraph spelling in this and similar words is considered old-fashioned even in the UK).
oi[]
IPA: /ɔɪ/
This digraph is mainly focused on in The End. It appears in Cowboy as well but it only shows up for a few seconds at the beginning.
It is formed when O and I stick together, and it shares sounds with OY. They cannot speak other than their sound due to O being part of the digraph.
oo[]
IPA: /uː/ or /ʊ/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Moon, Book and Good Food.
It is formed when two O's stick together, and it makes two different sounds depending on the word. The digraph, like a single O, is only able to make their sounds, and they are able to alternate between their two sounds, and uses the right one during spellings, as seen in Good Food. It is confirmed that OO making the wrong sound during spelling results in the word being nonsense, as shown when OO does the /uː/ sound while spelling "foot" instead of /ʊ/, as seen in Moon.
or[]
IPA: /ɔ:(ɹ)/ or /o:(ɹ)/
This digraph is mainly focused on in The End.
It is formed when O and R stick together, and they cannot speak other than their sound due to O being part of the digraph.
It can also make the /ɜː/ sound, as in “work”.
oor[]
IPA: /ɔ:(ɹ)/, /o:(ɹ)/, or /ʊə(ɹ)/
This trigraph only appears in Alphalympics, where D and the trigraph spell the word "door".
It is formed when two O's and an R stick together, and they likely cannot speak other than their sound due to the two O's being part of the trigraph.
ou[]
IPA: /aʊ/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Cowboy.
It is formed when O and U stick together, and they cannot speak other than their sound due to O being part of the digraph. OU actually has two sounds, with the first being the one showcased in Cowboy, with the other, less common one being shared with OO, EW and UE, though OU didn't make this sound in the show yet.
It can also make the /uː/ sound, as in "youth".
ow[]
IPA: /aʊ/, /oʊ/, or /əʊ/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Glow, How Now, Brown Cow?, Cowboy, Wow, and Snow.
It is formed when O and W stick together, and they cannot speak other than their sounds due to O being part of the digraph. However, starting in Wow, the digraph speaks prpoerly. OW has two sounds, with the first being shared with OU, with the other one being the Long-O sound.
oy[]
IPA: /ɔɪ/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Cowboy as well as appearing exclusively in the game adaptation of Jaybird.
It is formed when O and Y stick together, and it shares sounds with OI. They cannot speak other than their sound due to O being part of the digraph.
o_e[]
IPA: /oʊ/ and /ʌ/
This is mainly focused in the episode Home and Note.
O and Magic E form this, and they say O's name. In Home, Magic E retains his ability to speak separately; however, this was probably done so that he could explain the digraph in song to the viewer.
It can also have a short U sound, in "love" and "shove," although, they only say a long O sound in the series.
p[]
ph[]
IPA: /f/
This digraph is mainly focused on Alphabet, and only appears in this episode. This digraph appears on both versions of the Alphablocks logo.
It is formed when P and H stick together, and has the same sound as F.
q[]
qu[]
IPA: /kw/ or /k/
This digraph appears in every episode that has both Q and U in them, except for Race, Alphalympics, ABC, Letters to Santa, Making Friends, Crossover, and Party Party.
It is formed when Q and U stick together, and it is explained that Q needs U to form this digraph so she can make her sound, much to U's dismay.
s[]
sh[]
IPA: /ʃ/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Cha Cha Cha, Champ, and Shop.
It is formed when S and H stick together, and makes a sound similar to the sound of hushing.
ss[]
IPA: /s/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Hill, and only appears in this episode.
It is formed when two S's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone S.
t[]
th[]
IPA: /θ/ or /ð/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Cha Cha Cha, Thing, and Shop.
It is formed when T and H stick together, and makes two similar sounds depending on the word being spelled. There used to be two letters in the Old English alphabet called "thorn" (Þ) and "eth" (Ð) that used each of the sounds, but they were phased out in favour of the TH digraph.
u[]
ue[]
IPA: /juː/ or /uː/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Blue, and only appears in this episode.
It is formed when U and E stick together, and has the same long sound as a lone U.
ur[]
IPA: /ɜː/ or /ɚ/
This digraph is mainly focused on in The End.
It is formed when U and R stick together.
ure[]
IPA: /jʊə(ɹ)/ or /ʊə(ɹ)/
This trigraph only appears in Fair.
It is formed when U, R and E stick together.
u_e[]
IPA: /juː/ or /uː/
This is mainly focused in the episode Blue.
U and Magic E form this, and they say U's name, or an "oo" sound.
U_E is the only split digraph to have its two sounds in the series.
w[]
wh[]
IPA: /ʍ/, /w/, or /h/
This digraph only appears in Alphabet.
It is formed when W and H stick together, and has the same sound as a lone W.
It can also have the same sound as a lone H, as in who.
z[]
zz[]
IPA: /z/
This digraph is mainly focused on in Zzzzz.
It is formed when two Z's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone Z.
Not in the show[]
a[]
ar[]
are[]
IPA: /ɛə/, /ɛɚ/, or /ɑː(ɹ)/
This trigraph could be formed when A, R and E stick together. By itself, the trigraph sounds the same as digraph AR, but when a consonant is added before it, it makes the same sound as trigraph AIR. It would make words like "care", "stare", or "fanfare".
arr[]
IPA: /ɛə/, /ɛɚ/, or /æɹ/
This trigraph is formed with A and two R's. Found in words like "arrow" and "marry".
b[]
bb[]
IPA: /b/
This digraph would be formed when two B's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone B.
c[]
cc[]
IPA: /k/
This digraph would be formed when two C's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone C. Found in words like "soccer".
This combination can also make a /ks/ sound as in "access", but that's more like a hard C followed by a soft C.
d[]
dg[]
IPA: /dʒ/
This digraph is when D and G stick together, and can say J's sound. Found in words like "badger" and "lodging".
dge[]
IPA: /dʒ/
This trigraph is when D, G, and E stick together, and can say J's sound. Found in words like "bridge" and "fridge".
e[]
ee[]
eer[]
IPA: /ɪə/ or /ɪɚ/
This trigraph could be formed when two E's and an R stick together. It would make the same sound as trigraph EAR and ERE. It could make words like "deer", "sheer" or "steer".
ei[]
IPA: /eɪ/, /i/, or /aɪ/
This digraph would be formed when E and I stick together.
eig[]
eigh[]
IPA: /eɪ/ or /aɪ/
This is neither a digraph nor a trigraph, but a tetragraph (four letters that make one sound) that can be formed with E, I, G, and H. They can make an A sound, like in "weight" or "eight". They can also make an I sound, like in "height".
ere[]
IPA: /ɪə/, /ɪɚ/, /ɛə/, or /ɛɚ/
This trigraph could be formed when E, R and a second E stick together with R between both E's. It would have two sounds, with one being the same sound as trigraphs EAR and EER, and the other being the same sound as trigraphs AIR and ARE. It would make words such as "here" or "there".
err[]
IPA: /ɛə/, /ɛɚ/, or /ɛɹ/
This trigraph is formed with E and two R's. Found in words like "error".
g[]
gh[]
IPA: /ɡ/, /f/, or /∅/
This digraph would be formed when G and H stick together, and could either have the same sound as F, G, or be silent.
gn[]
IPA: /n/
This digraph can be formed when G and N stick together, and could make the same sound as a lone N. (Often mistaken to have both letters say their sounds) Found in words like "gnu" and "sign".
i[]
ire[]
IPA: /aɪə/ or /aɪɚ/
This trigraph could be formed when I, R and E stick together. It would make words such as "fire" or "tired".
irr[]
IPA: /ɪə/, /ɪɚ/, or /ɪɹ/
This trigraph is formed with I and two R's. Found in words like "mirror".
k[]
kn[]
IPA: /n/
This digraph would be formed when K and N stick together, and has the same sound as a lone N.
m[]
mb[]
IPA: /m/
This digraph would be formed when M and B stick together, and has the same sound as a lone M.
mm[]
IPA: /m/
This digraph would be formed when two M's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone M.
mn[]
IPA: /m/
This digraph would be formed when M and N stick together, and has the same sound as a lone M.
o[]
ore[]
IPA: /ɔ:(ɹ)/ or /o:(ɹ)/
This trigraph could be formed when O, R and E stick together. It would make words such as "store" or "more".
our[]
IPA: /aʊə/, /ɔ:(ɹ)/, /o:(ɹ)/, or /ʊə(ɹ)/
This trigraph could be formed when O, U and R stick together. It would make either the same sound as OR/OOR/OAR/AW/AU, or a sound that is a combination between the OU/OW and ER/IR/UR sounds. It would make words such as "sour", "flour" and "hour" or "tour", "four" and "pour".
Funnily enough, O, U and R actually spelled "four" together with F, though they didn't stick together.
p[]
pp[]
IPA: /p/
This digraph would be formed when two P's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone P.
r[]
rh[]
IPA: /ɹ/
This digraph would be formed when R and H stick together, and has the same sound as a lone R.
rr[]
IPA: /ɹ/
This digraph would be formed when two R's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone R.
t[]
tch[]
IPA: /tʃ/
This trigraph can be formed when T, C, and H stick together, and they would make the same sound as CH. Found in words like "watch" and "pitch".
tt[]
IPA: /t/
This digraph would be formed when two T's stick together, and has the same sound as a lone T.
u[]
ui[]
IPA: /uː/
This digraph would be formed when U and I stick together, and has the same long sound as a lone U.
uy[]
IPA: /iː/
This digraph would be formed when U and Y stick together, and has the same long sound as a lone I. In words such as "buy" and "guy".
v[]
vv[]
IPA: /v/
This digraph would be formed when two V’s stick together, and has the same sound as a lone V.
w[]
wr[]
IPA: /ɹ/
This digraph would be formed when W and R stick together, and has the same sound as a lone R.
y[]
y_e[]
IPA: /aɪ/
This is a split digraph formed with Y and Magic E, and they say I's sound. Found in words like "type," and "style".
ye[]
IPA: /aɪ/
This digraph would be formed when Y and E stick together. It's found in words like "bye" and "dye".
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- There are 37 digraphs and 6 trigraphs that appear in the show.
- Magic E (A_E, E_E, I_E, O_E, and U_E) formations are called a split digraph.
- pp, rr, tt, and wr were only seen in a magazine, and mm was only seen in a promotional.
- The first consonant digraph shown is qu in Alphablocks, and the first vowel digraph shown is ee in Bee.
- o has the most digraphs and trigraphs at 11 (9 digraphs and 2 trigraphs), while d, f, l, p, q, t, and z are all tied with one digraph.
- B, J, M, V, and X had no digraphs or trigraphs in the show.