Reading: Basic Decoding & Word Recognition: A2 Lesson 4: Decoding Two-Syllable Words (basic)

Reading: Basic Decoding & Word Recognition

A2 Lesson 4: Decoding Two-Syllable Words

Listen to the decoding rules and examples.

What you will learn: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to use basic rules to split two-syllable words, helping you read them more easily and accurately.

Before You Read 🧠

Key Vocabulary (Click 🔊)

Let's learn these important words for today's lesson.

Syllable

| ព្យាង្គ

A single unit of speech, or a "beat" in a word. Every syllable has one vowel sound.

Decode

| បec mã

To break down a word into its sounds to read it.

Vowel

| ស្រៈ

The letters a, e, i, o, u.

Consonant

| ព្យញ្ជនៈ

All other letters that are not vowels (b, c, d, f, etc.).

How to Decode Two-Syllable Words

Big words are just small parts put together. If you can read "cat" and "nip", you can read "catnip"! The trick is knowing where to split the word. Here are two common rules.

The "Rabbit" Rule 🐇

Split Between 2 Consonants

Vowel-C / C-Vowel (VC/CV)

When you see two consonants between two vowels, split the word between the consonants. The first vowel is usually short.

rab-bit
bas-ket
let-ter

The "Tiger" Rule 🐅

Split Before 1 Consonant

V / C-Vowel (V/CV)

When you see one consonant between two vowels, try splitting the word before that consonant. The first vowel is usually long (it says its name).

ti-ger
mu-sic
o-pen

Reading Practice Story

Read the story. Look for the VC/CV (Rabbit) and V/CV (Tiger) words. Click 🔊 to listen.

A rab-bit had a pic-nic. His bas-ket was full. He had let-tuce and sev-en carrots.

A ti-ger came to the pic-nic. "Hello," said the ti-ger. "I like your mu-sic."

The rab-bit did not o-pen his bas-ket. His lunch was a se-cret!

Practice What You Learned 🎯

Quiz: How Do You Split It?

Choose the correct way to split the word based on the rules. Click "Check Answers" when you are finished.

1. basket

• A) bas-ket (Rabbit Rule 🐇)
• B) ba-sket (Tiger Rule 🐅)

2. music

• A) mus-ic (Rabbit Rule 🐇)
• B) mu-sic (Tiger Rule 🐅)

3. letter

• A) let-ter (Rabbit Rule 🐇)
• B) le-tter (Tiger Rule 🐅)

4. open

• A) op-en (Rabbit Rule 🐇)
• B) o-pen (Tiger Rule 🐅)

Key Vocabulary Reference (Click 🔊)

• Syllable | ព្យាង្គ
  A single "beat" in a word with one vowel sound (e.g., 'wa-ter' has two syllables).
• Decode | បec mã
  To break down a word into its sounds to read it.
• Rabbit Rule (VC/CV) | กฎ "ទន្សាយ"
  Split a word between two consonants (e.g., rab-bit). The first vowel is usually short.
• Tiger Rule (V/CV) | กฎ "ខ្លា"
  Split a word before the consonant (e.g., ti-ger). The first vowel is usually long.

Your Reading Mission ⭐

Become a Syllable Detective!

Look for two-syllable words in your daily life (on signs, in books, on your phone). When you find one, try to be a "detective":

1. Find the two vowels.
2. Look at the consonants between them.
3. Is it a Rabbit Rule (bas-ket) or a Tiger Rule (mu-sic)?
4. Try to read the word, one part at a time.