How to spell woman
A Year 3 and 4 statutory spelling word, with the tricky part explained and a tip that makes it stick.
The answer
woman
W-O-M-A-N
The part to watch: one woman, ending -man with an a. The underlined letters are the ones most people get wrong.
The tricky part
Woman is one person, and it ends with man. The o sounds like the oo in good.
Woman is one of the words on the Year 3 and 4 list with a vowel that makes a surprising sound. In these words a vowel, or a pair of vowels, makes a sound it does not usually make, such as the u in busy or the o in women.
A way to remember it
One woman, one man: woman has "man" in it.
Woman in syllables
wom · an
Woman has 2 syllables. Say each one as you write it.
In a sentence
The woman at the desk gave us a map.
Woman on the statutory list
Woman is on the Year 3 and 4 statutory word list in the national curriculum for England, printed there as woman/women. Children are taught these words in Years 3 and 4, when they are 7 to 9.
From the same entry
Test yourself
A short spelling test that starts with woman, then nine more words from the Year 3 and 4 list, read aloud. It works in your browser.
More words with a vowel that makes a surprising sound
These words from the Year 3 and 4 list share the same pattern as woman.
More words
Questions parents ask
What is the difference between woman and women?
Woman, ending -man, means one person. Women, ending -men, means more than one. The first vowel sounds different too: in woman the o sounds like the oo in good, and in women it sounds like the i in win.
Spelling is one part of the picture
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