Year 5 and 6 spelling list
All 100 entries on the national curriculum word list for Years 5 and 6, with the tricky part of every word and a spelling test to try.
The answer
The Year 5 and 6 statutory spelling list has 100 entries. Some, such as equip (-ped, -ment) and immediate(ly), cover more than one spelling, so there are 104 spellings to learn in all. Children learn them in Years 5 and 6, when they are 9 to 11.
The full Year 5 and 6 list, A to Z
Tap a word to see how it is spelt, the mistakes children make with it and a tip for remembering it.
| Word | The part to watch |
|---|---|
| accommodate | a double c and a double m |
| accompany | a double c, then company |
| according | a double c, then cord |
| achieve | a + ch + ie + ve |
| aggressive | a double g and a double s |
| amateur | it ends -eur, from French |
| ancient | an + cient, with ci saying sh |
| apparent | a double p, and it ends -ent |
| appreciate | a double p, and ci says sh |
| attached | a double t, then ch with no t |
| available | avail + able |
| average | aver + age, with an e you hardly hear |
| awkward | w before the k, and w again after it |
| bargain | bar + gain |
| bruise | ui says "oo", and it ends -se |
| category | cat + e + gory, with e after the t |
| cemetery | three e letters and no a |
| committee | double m, double t, double e |
| communicate | a double m |
| community | a double m, and it ends -ity |
| competition | compete + ition, so e and then i |
| conscience | con + science |
| conscious | con + sc + ious |
| controversy | contro + versy, with an o in the middle and s at the end |
| convenience | conven + ience |
| correspond | a double r, then respond |
| criticise | critic + ise |
| curiosity | curious drops its u (curi-os-ity) |
| definite | fin in the middle, and it ends -ite |
| desperate | des + per + ate |
| determined | determine + d |
| develop | no e at the end |
| dictionary | diction + ary |
| disastrous | disaster drops its e (disast-rous) |
| embarrass | a double r and a double s |
| environment | environ + ment, keeping the n |
| equip | e + quip, one p |
| equipment | equip + ment, one p and no t before it |
| equipped | equip doubles its p before -ed |
| especially | e + special + ly |
| exaggerate | a double g, and one x |
| excellent | x, then c, then a double l |
| existence | exist + ence |
| explanation | explain drops its i |
| familiar | from family (fam-il-iar) |
| foreign | ei, and a silent g |
| forty | four loses its u in forty |
| frequently | frequent + ly |
| government | govern + ment, keeping the n |
| guarantee | a silent u after the g, and ee at the end |
| harass | one r and a double s |
| hindrance | hinder drops its e (hind-rance) |
| identity | i + den + ti + ty |
| immediate | a double m, and it ends -ate |
| immediately | immediate + ly, keeping the e |
| individual | in + divid + ual |
| interfere | inter + fere, ending -ere |
| interrupt | inter + rupt, so a double r |
| language | lan + gu + age |
| leisure | ei, then sure |
| lightning | light + ning, with no e |
| marvellous | marvel + ous, with a double l |
| mischievous | mischief + ous, ending -vous, not -vious |
| muscle | a silent c after the s |
| necessary | one c, then a double s |
| neighbour | neigh + bour |
| nuisance | ui says "oo", and it ends -ance |
| occupy | a double c, one p |
| occur | a double c, one r |
| opportunity | op + port + unity |
| parliament | parl + ia + ment, with an i you do not hear |
| persuade | per + suade |
| physical | ph says f, and y says i |
| prejudice | pre + judice, with j not dj, ending -ice |
| privilege | priv + i + lege, with no d |
| profession | one f, then a double s |
| programme | a double m, and an e at the end |
| pronunciation | pronounce drops its o (pro-nun-ci-a-tion) |
| queue | q, then ueue |
| recognise | reco + g + nise, keeping the g |
| recommend | one c, then a double m |
| relevant | rel + e + vant, ending -ant |
| restaurant | rest + au + rant |
| rhyme | a silent h, and y says "eye" |
| rhythm | rh, y, thm, with no a, e, i, o or u |
| sacrifice | sac + ri + fice |
| secretary | secret + ary |
| shoulder | ou says "oh" |
| signature | sign + ature, keeping the g of sign |
| sincere | a soft c, and it ends -ere |
| sincerely | sincere + ly, keeping the e |
| soldier | di says "j", then ie |
| stomach | it ends -ach, with ch saying k |
| sufficient | a double f, and ci says sh |
| suggest | a double g |
| symbol | y says i, and it ends -bol |
| system | y says i, and it ends -tem |
| temperature | tem + per + a + ture |
| thorough | th + o + rough |
| twelfth | twelve becomes twelfth, and the v turns into f |
| variety | vari + ety, so i and then e |
| vegetable | veg + e + table |
| vehicle | a silent h, and it ends -cle |
| yacht | a silent ch (y, a, c, h, t) |
Year 5 and 6 spelling test
Ten words from the list, picked at random. Each word is read out, used in a sentence and read again, then everything is marked at the end.
A short spelling test of ten words from the Year 5 and 6 list, read aloud. It works in your browser.
The words grouped by pattern
Learning words in groups that share a pattern is quicker than learning them in alphabetical order.
Words with a double letter at the start
Many long words begin ac, ag, ap, at, com, cor, im, oc, op, suf or sug with a doubled consonant. Most began as a prefix joined to a root, and the letter doubled where the two met.
Words with a double letter
A consonant is doubled somewhere in the word, and that is the part that goes wrong. Say the word slowly and count the doubles before you write it.
Words with a silent letter
These words have a letter you write but do not say. Many were said long ago and the spelling kept them.
Words with a letter you hardly hear
When we speak quickly, a letter or a whole beat gets swallowed. Say the word slowly, the way it is spelt, so every letter has a sound.
Words with the -ly ending
Most of these words are made by adding -ly to a root word. Spell the root first, then add -ly. A root ending in -le swaps the -le for -ly, as probable becomes probably.
Words with a suffix to watch
A suffix is an ending such as -ment, -tion or -ed. Sometimes the root word changes when you add it: a letter is dropped, doubled or swapped.
Words with a smaller word behind it
Each of these words is built from, or related to, a smaller word you may already know. Find the smaller word and most of the spelling follows.
Words with a -tion, -cial or -cient ending
These words end in -tion, -cial or -cient, where ti or ci usually says "sh": men-tion, spe-cial, an-cient. After an s, as in question, -tion says "chun" instead, but the letters stay the same.
Words with the -ous ending
The ending that sounds like "us" at the end of a describing word is spelt -ous. It is never -us or -ouse.
Words with the letters ei, eigh or ie
The letters ei, eigh and ie can make several sounds. These words have to be learnt as a group, because the sound does not tell you which letters to use.
Words with a soft c
The letter c says s when it comes before e, i or y, as in centre, circle and bicycle. Before a, o, u or another consonant it says k.
Words with the letters ough or augh
The letters ough make at least five different sounds, and augh often says "or". Learn these words by sight, as a family.
Words with an -ant, -ance, -ent or -ence ending
The endings -ant and -ent sound almost the same, and so do -ance and -ence. The only reliable way is to learn which one each word takes.
Words with y doing the job of a vowel
In these words the letter y does the job of a vowel. Usually it says the short i of gym, and sometimes the "eye" of my.
Words from other languages
These words came into English from French or Dutch. Their spellings do not follow English sound patterns, so learn them by sight.
What the list is and when it is taught
This is the second statutory word list in English Appendix 1 of the national curriculum for England. It is taught across Years 5 and 6, when children are 9 to 11. Like the Year 3 and 4 list, it mixes words children use often with words they often misspell.
The list comes alongside the spelling rules for Years 5 and 6: endings such as -cious and -tious, -ant and -ent, -able and -ible, the ough letter string, silent letters and homophones. Several words also teach a word family: conscience is con + science, and familiar comes from family.
There is no separate test of the list. At the end of Year 6, teachers assess writing, and the expected standard includes spelling most of these words correctly. The Year 6 grammar, punctuation and spelling test has a spelling paper too, which can include words like these.
Practising at home
- Start with the doubles. Accommodate, committee, embarrass and necessary are easier to learn together, because the doubled letters are the part to watch in each.
- Look for the smaller word inside: govern in government, critic in criticise, sign in signature. It explains letters you cannot hear.
- Watch the words that change when an ending is added: pronounce becomes pronunciation, explain becomes explanation and curious becomes curiosity.
- Practise five or six words a week and retest earlier weeks too. A word that is right on Friday is not learnt until it is still right a month later.
- Many of these words also turn up in 11+ English papers, often as spot-the-mistake questions, so practise noticing a wrong spelling as well as writing the right one.
More spelling help
Questions parents ask
How many words are on the Year 5 and 6 spelling list?
The Year 5 and 6 statutory spelling list has 100 entries. Some, such as equip (-ped, -ment) and immediate(ly), cover more than one spelling, so there are 104 spellings to learn in all.
When are the Year 5 and 6 spelling words taught?
Across Years 5 and 6, when children are 9 to 11. The national curriculum does not set an order, so each school decides which words to teach each week, usually alongside the spelling rule the class is learning.
Are the Year 5 and 6 spelling words tested?
There is no separate test of the list. At the end of Year 6, teachers assess writing, and the expected standard includes spelling most words from the Year 5 and 6 list correctly. The Year 6 grammar, punctuation and spelling test also has a spelling paper that can include words like these.
Which Year 5 and 6 words are hardest to spell?
Words that trip up many children include accommodate, embarrass, necessary, pronunciation, mischievous and twelfth. Each has its own page with the tricky part explained and a memory tip.
Spelling is one part of the picture
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