Heart Words: What They Are, Plus a Free List by Grade

Heart words are sight words with a part that doesn’t sound out the way your child expects. Sound out the letters that play fair. Learn only the tricky part by heart, and draw a heart over it. In said, s and d play fair. Heart the ai, because it says /e/. A few words, like the and of, get a heart on the whole thing.

The Dolch lists from pre-K to 2nd grade hold 179 different words. 60 of them get a heart on our lists. All 60 are below, and on our free printable heart words list.

Heart words vs sight words

Sight words are a list — the common words a child should read instantly. Heart words are the ones on that list with an irregular part. The heart is how you teach them.

Most sight words aren’t irregular. Can, up, went and play sound out like any other word.

You’ll also hear red words, tricky words and irregular high-frequency words. Same idea, different names.

Heart words list by grade

The tables name the hearted part and what it says.

Pre-K and kindergarten heart words (27)

The 13 in bold are on the pre-K list too.

Word	Heart on	It says
I	whole word	its name, as in hi
the	whole word	“thuh” or “thee”
is	s	/z/
to	o	/oo/
you	ou	/oo/
said	ai	/e/, not the long a of a vowel team
come	o, e	o says /u/; e is silent
one	whole word	“wun”
two	wo	w is silent; o says /oo/
here	ere	/eer/, as in deer
where	ere	/air/
find	i	its name (long i)
little	le	/ul/
was	a, s	a says /u/; s says /z/
do	o	/oo/
into	o	/oo/ (in + to)
have	e	silent; the a stays short
who	w, o	w is silent; o says /oo/
what	a	/u/
want	a	/o/, as in hot
all	whole word	/awl/
there	ere	/air/
they	ey	/ay/
are	e	silent; the ar is regular bossy r
four	ou	/or/ with the r
please	se	s says /z/; e is silent
pretty	e	/i/

In have, the a is a plain short vowel. The heart goes on the e. English words almost never end in v, so the e isn’t doing its magic e job. Give and live work the same way.

Is and I stay hearted on our sheets. In where, the wh is a regular digraph. Only the ere is hearted.

1st grade heart words (16)

Word	Heart on	It says
as	s	/z/
has	s	/z/
his	s	/z/
of	whole word	“uv”
give	e	silent; the i stays short
live (to live)	e	silent; the i stays short
some	o, e	o says /u/; e is silent
once	whole word	“wunss”
could	oul	/oo/ as in book; l is silent
put	u	/oo/ as in book
were	ere	/ur/, as in her
again	ai	/e/, as in said
from	o	/u/
walk	al	/aw/; l is silent
any	a	/e/
know	k	silent

2nd grade heart words (17)

Word	Heart on	It says
been	ee	/i/
buy	uy	long i, like “bye”
does	o, e, s	o says /u/; e is silent; s says /z/
would	oul	/oo/ as in book; l is silent
wash	a	/o/, as in hot
both	o	its name (long o)
don’t	o	its name (long o)
their	eir	/air/
use (to use)	s	/z/
these	s	/z/
those	s	/z/
write	w	silent
many	a	/e/
work	or	/er/ after w
your	ou	/or/ with the r
always	al	/awl/, like all
because	se	s says /z/; e is silent

In use, these and those, magic e does its job. Only the s is hearted. Both and don’t have a long vowel with nothing to mark it.

Which heart words stop being heart words?

Once the pattern is taught, six of the 60 hearts come off. The other 54 stay.

Word	Comes off when your child learns
find	the -ind ending (kind, mind)
little	the -le ending (apple, bottle)
all	-all as one chunk (ball, hall). If your child already reads ball, skip this heart.
know	kn, with a silent k (knot, knee)
write	wr, with a silent w (wrap)
work	or after w saying /er/ (worm, word)

Always keeps its heart. The -all chunk your child learns has two l’s, and this al has one.

How to teach heart words

Map each word. Here’s was:

Say it. “Was.”
Tap the sounds. /w/ /u/ /z/.
Write a letter or chunk per sound. w, a, s.
Heart the tricky parts. “The a says /u/. The s says /z/.”
Read it in a sentence the same day. “The cat was fast.”

The other 119 Dolch words sound out, and the same map-it routine works for them: see how to teach sight words. Our free letter tiles include heart cards. Our heart words sheets practice them on paper. Our free heart word board game turns 20 of them into a roll, read and check game. Our reading games read stories aloud, so your child hears was and said in context.

“This can be used like a good tutor for children who are just beginning to learn reading. It makes spelling easy for kids and is a great supplement to their after-school routine.” — Speat0897, App Store review (US)

Your plan for this week

Pick three to five heart words that match the stage your child is on (each grade’s post sorts them by stage). A preschooler needs just one, pointed out in a read-aloud.
Map each one with tiles and a heart card.
Reread last week’s hearts before adding new ones. If one won’t stick after two weeks, park it. The phonics it needs may not be in yet.
Print the free heart words list. All 60 on one page, no signup. Each grade’s post has its full checklist too.

Common questions

What are some heart words? Common ones are the, said, was, of, one and you. Each one is a sight word with a part that doesn’t sound out. That part gets a heart.

Why are they called heart words? You learn the tricky part by heart, so you draw a heart over it.

What is the difference between sight words and heart words? Can and said are both sight words. Can sounds out. Said needs a heart on the ai.

How do I explain heart words to parents? “Sound out the letters that play fair. Learn the hearted part by heart.” Then send the child’s grade list home.

Are sight words just memorized? No. Once the phonics is taught, most of them sound out. Only the hearted part is memorized.

Is it better to teach phonics or sight words? Phonics first. Once your child is blending short-vowel words, add a few heart words. The full order is in how kids learn to read.

Should a 4 year old know sight words? No. Letter sounds matter more. If your child picks some up, our preschool list names the five worth knowing first.

Is will a heart word? No. The w, short i and ll all sound out once -ll is taught.