Alien words are made-up words such as vop, shom and zeet. In phonics they have a simple job: because nobody has seen them before, the only way to read them is to sound them out. Here is why alien words matter, how they connect to Victoria’s Year 1 Phonics Check, and a list of alien words sorted by sound so you can practise kindly at home.
What are alien words in phonics?
An alien word is a short made-up word that follows normal English spelling patterns but has no meaning. Teachers also call them nonsense words, pseudo-words or non-words. They all mean the same thing.
The “alien” name comes from England’s Year 1 phonics check, where each made-up word sits beside a picture of a little alien, so children can think of it as a name from another planet. Many teachers and websites now use the nickname, and children tend to love it.
Why do children read made-up words?
When a child reads a familiar word like dog, we can’t always tell how they did it. They might have sounded it out, or they might simply remember its shape from a book. Both are useful, but only one of them helps with a brand-new word.
A made-up word takes memory out of the picture. To read fod, your child has to look at each letter, say its sound, f-o-d, and blend the sounds into “fod”. That is decoding, the skill that lets children read words they have never met. Reading a handful of alien words is a quick, honest way to see whether decoding is secure.
Alien words help with spelling too. If your child can hear “jeck” and write j-e-ck, they are using the same sound–letter knowledge they need to spell real words.
Alien words and the Victorian Year 1 Phonics Check
Victoria has its own check. In the Victorian Year 1 Phonics Check, children read 40 words aloud: 20 real words and 20 made-up words. Victoria’s information for parents calls them “made-up words”, and Department materials call them non-words. The idea is the same: the made-up words show whether a child can sound out a word they can’t possibly know by sight.
Our guide to the Year 1 Phonics Check in Victoria covers the rest: when it happens, what the score of 28 out of 40 means, and what happens next.
An alien words list, sorted by sound
The best alien words to practise are ones built from sounds your child already knows. A made-up word with a sound they haven’t been taught yet isn’t a fair test, and it can knock their confidence. So pick a row that matches what your child is learning at school, and the rows above it.
These words are the ones KidStudy uses. Each was chosen by hand and checked so it isn’t a real word, a name, or a word that sounds like a real one. The rows follow the order of sounds in KidStudy’s phonics sets.
| Sounds used | Alien words |
|---|---|
| s, t, a, p, n, i, m, d, g, o, c, f | pim, fod |
| adds k, e, r, u | kem, nep, fep |
| adds b, h, l, j, w, v, y, z | hib, wib, vop, vuz |
| qu | quen, quep |
| ck, th | meck, jeck, vock, thim, thep |
| ll, ff | vell, rull, zuff |
| ch, sh | chab, chot, shom, shib, nush |
| two or three consonants at the start | drob, frim, glet, spug, grof, slom, brip, clun, snad, flom, plok, splan |
| two consonants at the end | lomp, vund, nact, dilp, fesk, jund, tolf, gemp, mesk |
| consonants at both ends | blemp, crisk, drant, stelp, brolf, plund, frelt, glond |
| two syllables | zumpet, vintop, fendop, lomtip, gombat, tobnit, pagnet, sandib |
| ai, ee, igh, oa, oo | faip, zail, maip, thrail, zeet, feep, queep, veed, vight, zight, jight, foab, zoof, shoom, broop |
| ar, or, ur, ow, oi | jarm, varb, zarn, garp, sparb, lorb, vorn, zort, smorn, gurp, zurn, lurb, murt, vown, fowt, frowl, doim, zoip, foid, loit |
| air | mairn |
| a–e, i–e, o–e, u–e (split vowels) | vake, plake, mipe, bline, zope, trote, snope, vune, shune, drube |
| ay, ea, oy | zay, jeam, bloy |
| ir, aw, ue, ph | dirp, yirk, vawn, chawp, zue, phob, phid |
Some made-up words can be read more than one way. If your child reads jeam or vown one way and you expected another, ask them to show you the sounds. If each sound is a sensible one for those letters, that’s a good read.
How to practise alien words at home
Keep it short and silly. Two or three minutes, a few times a week, is plenty.
- Meet the aliens. Draw a quick alien and give it a name from the list: “This is Zort. Can you read its name?” Your child sounds it out and blends it.
- Real or alien? Write six words on scraps of paper, three real and three alien (ship, shom, frog, frim). Your child reads each one, then sorts them into a real pile and an alien pile.
- Alien postcards. Say an alien word and let your child write it, one sound at a time. This turns reading practice into spelling practice.
- Try a mixed list. Now and then, read a longer mix of real and alien words, like the Phonics Check practice on KidStudy’s Sounds page.
- Back to real books. Finish with a page from a real book, ideally a decodable one with the same sounds. Our free decodable books in Phonics Plus order are made for this.
Do alien words confuse children?
Some parents worry that made-up words will muddle their child’s reading. In small doses they don’t: most children enjoy the joke and quickly learn that alien words are a game. Some teachers also make a fair point that time spent on made-up words is time not spent reading real books.
Both views lead to the same sensible plan. Use alien words now and then to practise the skill of sounding out, never to memorise a list. Spend most of your reading time on real words and real stories, and keep the daily routine from phonics at home in 10 minutes a day. If your child finds blending itself hard, start with what to try when a child can’t blend sounds yet.
Questions parents ask
Are alien words and nonsense words the same thing?
Yes. Alien words, nonsense words, made-up words, pseudo-words and non-words all mean short words that follow spelling patterns but have no meaning. Victoria’s materials call them made-up words.
How many made-up words are in the Victorian Phonics Check?
Twenty. Children read 40 words in all: 20 real words and 20 made-up words.
Should I practise alien words with my Year 1 child?
A little is fine and often fun. Choose words that use sounds your child has been taught, keep it to a few minutes, and spend most of your time on real books. The goal is confident sounding out, not learning particular words.
What are some examples of alien words?
Simple ones include pim, fod, vop and nep. Harder ones use letter teams, such as shom, zeet, vight, zort and vake. The list above sorts them by the sounds they use.
Why does my child keep turning alien words into real words?
Children naturally reach for words they know. It usually means they are looking at the first letter or two and guessing. Gently ask them to say every sound from left to right, then blend. With practice, the habit fades.
Sources
- Victorian Year 1 Phonics Check, Victorian Government
- Phonics: a guide for parents and carers, Victorian Government
