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ir as in bird

Learn about ER phoneme
a¡ff¡ir¡m
2
4
b¡ir¡ch
1
3
b¡ir¡d
1
3
b¡ir¡th
1
3
b¡ir¡th¡d¡ay
2
5
ch¡ir¡p
1
3
ch¡ir¡p¡i¡ng
2
5
c¡ir¡c¡le
2
4
c¡ir¡c¡ui¡t
2
5
c¡ir¡c¡u¡s
2
5
c¡o¡n¡f¡ir¡m
2
6
d¡ir¡t
1
3
d¡ir¡t¡y
2
4
f¡ir
1
2
f¡ir¡m
1
3
f¡ir¡m¡l¡y
2
5
f¡ir¡s¡t
1
4
f¡ir¡s¡t¡l¡y
2
6
f¡l¡ir¡t¡y
2
5
g¡ir¡l
1
3
g¡ir¡th
1
3
ir¡k
1
2
m¡ir¡th
1
3
qu¡ir¡k
1
3
qu¡ir¡k¡y
2
4
sh¡ir¡t
1
3
s¡ir
1
2
s¡ir¡l¡oi¡n
2
5
s¡k¡ir¡t
1
4
s¡m¡ir¡k
1
4
s¡m¡ir¡k¡i¡ng
2
6
s¡qu¡ir¡m
1
4
s¡qu¡ir¡m¡i¡ng
2
6
s¡qu¡ir¡t
1
4
s¡qu¡ir¡t¡e¡d
2
6
s¡t¡ir
1
3
s¡w¡ir¡l
1
4
s¡w¡ir¡l¡y
2
5
th¡ir¡d
1
3
th¡ir¡d¡l¡y
2
5
th¡ir¡s¡t
1
4
th¡ir¡s¡t¡y
2
5
th¡ir¡t¡ee¡n
2
5
th¡ir¡s¡t¡y
2
5
t¡w¡ir¡l
1
4
t¡w¡ir¡l¡i¡ng
2
6
v¡ir¡t¡ue
2
4
wh¡ir¡l
1
3
wh¡ir¡l¡p¡oo¡l
2
6

ER Sound Words

Please note: some r-controlled vowel sound generalisations may vary based on accent/dialect. Wordabase has been built from an Australian accent perspective.

R-Controlled ER at a glance:

  • Words with er sound include verb, mermaid, her
  • Words with or sound include word, worse, worthy
  • Words with ur sound include urn, purple, blur
  • Words with ir sound include bird, girl, stir

Spelling Frequencies:

  • er - 72% (includes words with ‘er’ schwa at the end of the word)
  • or - 12% (includes words with ‘or’ schwa at the end of the word)
  • ur - 8%
  • ir - 4%

Rare Spelling Patterns:

  • ear (learn)
  • our (journey)

Common Spelling Generalisations or Patterns:

  • ur is used at the beginning, middle or end of a word e.g. urn, surf, fur
  • ir is mostly used in the middle of words e.g. bird, firm, squirt, thirsty
  • or is mostly used in the middle of words and usually comes after a ‘w’ e.g. word, work, worth
  • er is mostly used in the middle or end of words e.g. term, perch, her
  • er usually makes a schwa sound at the end of words e.g. mother, doctor
  • ‘er’ can be a suffix e.g. faster, farmer, louder