Spelling Skill
Consonant Digraphs
WH Digraph Words
How to recognize, group, and teach the WH digraph — the sound at the start of most question words — including the small group of words where the W is silent, such as who, whom, whose, and whole, for parents and teachers.
What are wh digraph words?
A digraph is two letters that work together as one spelling unit for a single sound. This list practices the WH digraph, where W and H together spell a sound that, for most speakers today, matches a plain /w/, as in what and when. In a small group of words — including who, whom, whose, and whole — the pattern works differently: the W is silent, and the word begins with an /h/ sound instead. WH is most useful to learn as a bounded set of everyday words, especially question words, rather than as a rule that applies to any new word with a /w/ sound.
Consonant Digraphs
WH Digraph Words to Practice
14 words
- what
- when
- where
- whip
- while
- why
- wheel
- white
- who
- whom
- whose
- whole
- whale
- wheat
Practice WH Digraph Words
Practice 10 random words from the list above. Start another session anytime for a different mix.
Understanding the pattern
What Is the WH Digraph?
A digraph is a pair of letters that work together as one spelling unit, standing for a single sound rather than two. WH shows up at the start of many of English’s most frequently used words — including what, when, where, and while — and for most speakers today it matches a plain /w/, the same sound at the start of west or win. Because so many WH words are also question words children use in conversation every day, this pattern connects a familiar spelling shape to words a learner already knows how to say.
A Bounded Set, Not an Open Rule
Unlike a sound-and-spelling pattern that applies broadly across English, WH is best understood as a limited group of words rather than a rule a learner can apply to any new word with a /w/ sound. New words that use the /w/ sound are usually spelled with a plain W (wet, win, west), not WH — WH belongs to a bounded group that includes the common question words, plus others like white, while, wheel, and whip. Naming this scope up front helps a learner treat WH as a set of words to learn, not a spelling choice to work out from the sound alone.
The Silent-W Group: Who, Whom, Whose, and Whole
A small group of WH words works differently: the W is silent, and the word begins with an /h/ sound instead, as if it had been spelled with just an H. The group includes who, whom, whose, and whole, along with words built from them like whoever and wholly. Comparing what (starts with /w/) and who (starts with /h/) side by side is the clearest way to notice the difference:
| WH spelling the /w/ sound | WH spelling the /h/ sound |
|---|---|
| what, when, where, whip, while | who, whom, whose, whole |
Because these don’t sound anything like the rest of the WH words on this list, they’re worth naming explicitly rather than letting a learner discover the mismatch on their own and assume they misheard the pattern.
A Sound That Varies by Accent
WH has a second thing worth knowing about, separate from the silent-W group: speakers differ in whether they pronounce it distinctly from a plain W. Some accents make whale and wail sound slightly different; many others make them sound exactly the same. Both are ordinary, established pronunciations, and neither is the correct one to teach toward. Since the spelling doesn’t change either way, WH works better as a spelling pattern to recognize by sight than as a sound to listen for.
Where WH Shows Up
WH appears almost entirely at the beginning of words, which makes it more predictable to spot than digraphs that can turn up in any position. Many WH words are also among the first “wh-question” words children use to ask about the world — what, when, where, why, and who — so practicing the spelling alongside words already used in daily speech tends to go quickly.
Common WH Mistakes
The most frequent slip is dropping the H entirely and writing wat for what or wen for when — an easy mistake, since for most speakers there’s nothing in the sound of the word that points to an H. The second, specific to the silent-W group, is spelling who the way it sounds, as hoo, since nothing about hearing the word suggests it starts with a W at all. Both are best handled the same way: by treating WH words as a known set to check against, not purely by sound.
How to Practice WH Words
- Say the target word aloud.
- For a regular WH word, stretch it into its sounds together, treating WH as spelling the /w/ sound (wh… e… n). For who, skip straight to sounding out /h/ /oo/ and remember the WH spelling separately.
- Write or type the letters for each sound, in order.
- Read the result back exactly as written.
If a word comes out wrong, step 4 is the key one: read back exactly what was written — “that says wen” — and let the learner listen for which part needs to change, rather than pointing to the correct letters directly. Hearing the mismatch themselves is what builds the skill; being handed the answer skips it.
Signs the WH Pattern Is Becoming Secure
Signs the pattern is becoming secure include:
- Spelling regular WH words correctly from dictation, including the silent H.
- Recognizing who (and, later, whom, whose, and whole) as words that don’t follow the usual WH sound and need to be remembered by sight.
- Reading a WH word not seen before.
- Explaining, in their own words, that WH usually sounds like W, except in a small number of words where it sounds like H instead.
Where this fits in the curriculum
Practice this skill in the grade-level lesson where it appears in the SpellingWords curriculum:
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
- Why does 'who' sound completely different from 'what' or 'when'?
- 'Who' belongs to a small group of WH words — who, whom, whose, and whole among them — where the W is silent, so the word starts with an /h/ sound instead of the usual /w/ sound. Because these don't sound anything like a typical WH word, it's more effective to learn them by sight than to try sounding them out.
- Is WH supposed to sound different from a plain W, like in 'wag' or 'went'?
- It depends on the speaker. Some accents pronounce whale and wail differently; many others pronounce them identically. Both are ordinary, established pronunciations. Either way the spelling is the same, so choosing WH comes down to knowing the word rather than hearing a difference.
- Should WH words be sounded out or memorized?
- Mostly sounded out, since the regular /w/ pattern covers most of this list — but the silent-W group (who, whom, whose, whole) is worth calling out specifically as words to learn by sight, so they don't feel like a surprise later.