Silent P in PS, PN and PT

At the start of a Greek-derived word, p before s, n or t is silent — psalm, psychology, pneumonia, pterodactyl.

Silent letters

ps- / pn- / pt- SILENT_PS_01

Word-family rule · High reliability · Rare · Advanced · Reading

Silent: psalm, psychology, pneumonia

Where Wiggler teaches it: Skill 11: Advanced Patterns & Silent Letters

Child explanation

Psalm and pneumonia start with a quiet p. These are all words English borrowed from Greek.

The rule

Word-initial p is silent before s, n and t. Every word in this group came from Greek, where the cluster was pronounced.

What is really going on

Greek permitted initial /ps/, /pn/ and /pt/ clusters; English does not, so the p was dropped in pronunciation while the transliteration kept it. The p is pronounced when the cluster is not word-initial: capsule, helicopter.

Position in the word

Beginning of a word — The only position where the p is silent. For example: psalm, psychic, pneumonia, pterodactyl.

When this rule does not work

The cluster is inside the word: capsule, gypsy, helicopter, optics.

Examples

Easy examples

psalm, psychic, pneumonia

More examples

psychology, psychiatrist, pterodactyl, pseudonym, ptarmigan

Contrast pairs

psalm versus capsule — Silent at the start, pronounced in the middle.
pterodactyl versus helicopter — Same, and both words are Greek.

Teacher note

Rare, but children who like dinosaurs meet pterodactyl early and are delighted to be told the rule. Group it with the rest of the Greek pattern rather than teaching it alone.

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