You’ll sometimes see this page described as ear sound jolly phonics, but that label is not quite right. ear is not one of the 42 official Jolly Phonics sounds at all; it’s a Letters and Sounds Phase 3 trigraph, taught after the main 42, alongside air, igh, and ure. Most children meet it around age 5, once the core Jolly Phonics sounds are secure.
It’s still a useful sound to practice on purpose, since it turns up in everyday words like hear, near, and year. Jump to a section below, or read straight through for word lists, quick activities, and a free worksheet.
Ways to Spell the ear Sound
Children usually meet these spellings in roughly this order:
- ear — ear, hear, near, fear, year
- eer — deer, cheer, steer
- ere — here
- ier — pier
For the difference between a sound and its spelling, see our guide to phonemes and graphemes.
How We Say (and Cue) the ear Sound
Start with an ee shape, pulling your lips to the sides, then relax your tongue down toward an uh, finishing with a light r in accents that pronounce it. Keep the two parts smooth rather than snapping between them.
Jolly Phonics has no official action for ear, since it sits outside the 42-sound programme. As our own cue (not an official Jolly Phonics action), cup a hand around your ear and lean in, as if straining to catch a quiet sound, saying “ear, ear, I hear, I hear!” A short cue like this is a handy memory hook without pretending it’s part of the official set.
The main mix-up is air: bear, wear, and pear look like they should rhyme with hear, but they don’t. There’s also a flat er, as in heard and earth. A quick check: say the word slowly — if it rhymes with hear, deer, or here, it’s the ear sound; if it rhymes with hair or her, it isn’t.
Meet the Animals in Our ear Sound Story
An old owl gathered the animals near the pond to hear a riddle. “I have four words, and only two share a sound,” he said, “big, small, gear, and ear.” The animals sat still, straining to hear the answer, until a small deer stepped near and said, “gear and ear!” The whole clearing cheered, and the owl smiled, pleased that someone had listened so closely.
Video: The ear Sound in Action
ear Words: Where the Sound Shows Up
Beginning
A handful of words open with the sound:
- ear
- earring
- earache
- earwig
- earphones
- earlobe
Middle
Add an ending and the sound moves to the middle:
- nearly
- yearly
- clearing
- nearby
- fearless
- weary
End
Most simple ear words end right on the sound:
- hear
- near
- year
- clear
- deer
- cheer
- here
- pier
Stretch these out sound by sound:
- n-ear → near
- h-ear → hear
- f-ear → fear
- y-ear → year
- cl-ear → clear
Watch-out words: bear, wear, and pear are spelled with the same four letters but say air, and heard and earth say a flat er. None of these belong on an ear word list, even though they look like they should.
Try These 4 ear Activities Today
- Listening walk (3 minutes): Cup a hand around your ear outside and name what you hear — birds, wind, a car near the house.
- Rhyme match (4 minutes): Say hear, near, and year, then ask your child to add one more word that rhymes with them.
- Flashcard blending (3 minutes): Slide letter cards n and ear together to build near, then swap the n for h, f, or y.
- Watch-out sort (5 minutes): Lay out cards for hear, bear, and heard and sort them by whether they truly say the ear sound.
Free ear Worksheet, Flashcards and Dictation
Download the tracing worksheet below, then move on to the flashcards for blending practice.
Our phase 2 flashcards and phase 3 flashcards cover every sound met so far, including ear. Here are the two cards that build near:
Read each card alone first, then slide n and ear together to hear near.
New to Jolly Phonics? Start with our step-by-step teaching guide.
For a quick dictation check, say hear, near, year, clear, and deer one at a time, without showing the words, and have your child write each one down.
How ear Fits Into the Reading Sequence
ear comes right after the /igh/ sound in the Phase 3 order used here, and is one of the last extra sounds most children add. For the full 42-sound order plus these Phase 3 extras, see our Jolly Phonics complete guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is ear one of the 42 Jolly Phonics sounds?
No. ear is not part of the 42 official Jolly Phonics sounds. It is a Letters and Sounds Phase 3 trigraph, taught after the main 42, alongside air, igh, and ure, usually around age 5.
How do you pronounce the ear sound?
Start with an ee shape, pulling the lips to the sides, then relax the tongue down toward uh, finishing with a light r in accents that pronounce it. Don’t blend it into a flat er, as in teacher.
Which words use the ear sound?
Hear, near, year, clear, deer, cheer, here, and pier all use it, along with words like nearly and fearless where more letters follow.
Do bear and heard use the ear sound?
No. Bear, wear, and pear use the same four letters but say air, and heard and earth say er. These are common watch-out words, not examples of the ear sound.
