The word which has no vowels

Words with no vowels. Cwm and crwth do not contain the letters a, e, i, o, u, or y, the usual vowels (that is, the usual symbols that stand for vowel sounds) in English. But in those words the letter w simply serves instead, standing for the same sound that oo stands for in the words boom and booth.

Which words have no vowels?

English Words without Vowels with Meanings

Dry	Gym	Psst
Cry	Hmm	Lymph
Brr	Cysts	Drys
Cyst	Dryly	Ply
Fly	Lynch	Sylph

What 7 letter word has no vowels?

Not including plurals, there is only one seven-letter word which has none of the five vowels. That word is nymphly, which is a rare variation of ‘nymphlike’. However, two six-letter words, glycyl and rhythm, can have an ‘s’ added in the plural to make a seven-letter word without a vowel.

What 6 letter word has no vowels?

Answer: A popular word is RHYTHM.

What word has all 26 letters?

An English pangram is a sentence that contains all 26 letters of the English alphabet. The most well known English pangram is probably “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”. My favorite pangram is “Amazingly few discotheques provide jukeboxes.”

Is TV a word?

TV is an abbreviation for `television’.

Eunoia, at six letters long, is the shortest word in the English language that contains all five main vowels. Seven letter words with this property include adoulie, douleia, eucosia, eulogia, eunomia, eutopia, miaoued, moineau, sequoia, and suoidea. (The scientific name iouea is a genus of Cretaceous fossil sponges.)

Does y count as vowel?

What is special about the letter y is that it can represent both kinds of speech sounds—depending on its position and the letters surrounding it in a word. Y is considered to be a vowel if… The word has no other vowel: gym, my. The letter is at the end of a word or syllable: candy, deny, bicycle, acrylic.

What is the longest word that has no vowels?

RHYTHMS. RHYTHMS is perhaps officially the longest word without vowels which can not only be used in Scrabble, but which also can be used every day in common speech. It’s a noun and is most widely defined as the recurring or repeated notes or elements which create a balanced flow, particularly in music or verse.

Is there a word without a consonant?

Words without the use of consonants ( Only with the use of vowels ) – These words are few in numbers. They are just pronoun and some interjections and maybe other words. Interjections – O !, Ai, !, Ou !

How many English words have no vowels?

Found 88675 words without vowels for Scrabble, Words With Friends, WordHub, and Crosswords.

Are there any words with only vowels?

Words (found in major English dictionaries) consisting entirely of vowels include AA (a type of lava), AE, AI, AIEEE, IAO, OII, EAU, EUOUAE, OE, OO, I, O, A, IO, and UOIAUAI, the last of these being the longest vowel-only word (seven letters).

What word takes 3 hours to say?

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters)

What is the 27th letter of the alphabet?

The ampersand often appeared as a character at the end of the Latin alphabet, as for example in Byrhtferð’s list of letters from 1011. Similarly, & was regarded as the 27th letter of the English alphabet, as taught to children in the US and elsewhere.

What is the most longest word?

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is the longest word entered in the most trusted English dictionaries.

How do you spell PC?

Other definitions for pc (2 of 7)
personal computer.

Is TV OK in scrabble?

No, tv is not in the scrabble dictionary.

Is IV a scrabble word?

No, iv is not in the scrabble dictionary.

What is the smallest word?

‘i’ and ‘a’ are the smallest words. we can even use ‘an’ if the next word starts with vowel.

What are the 7 vowels?

In writing systems based on the Latin alphabet, the letters A, E, I, O, U, Y, W and sometimes others can all be used to represent vowels.

What is the longest and shortest word?

Longest_Shortest_Words. The word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is often cited as the longest word in the English language. It is the longest word found in a standard dictionary, but the full name for Tryptophan synthetase is longer, but not in a common dictionary. The shortest word is a.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

English orthography typically represents vowel sounds with the five conventional vowel letters ⟨a, e, i, o, u⟩, as well as ⟨y⟩, which may also be a consonant depending on context. However, outside of abbreviations, there are a handful of words in English that do not have vowels, either because the vowel sounds are not written with vowel letters or because the words themselves are pronounced without vowel sounds.

Words without written vowels[edit]

There are very few lexical words (that is, not counting interjections) without vowel letters. The longest such lexical word is tsktsks,^[1] pronounced /ˌtɪskˈtɪsks/. The mathematical expression nth /ˈɛnθ/, as in delighted to the nth degree, is in fairly common usage.^[2] Another mathematical term without vowel letters is ln, the natural logarithm. A more obscure example is rng /ˈrʌŋ/, derived from ring by deleting the letter ⟨i⟩.
Vowelless proper names from other languages, such as the surname Ng, may retain their original spelling, even if they are pronounced with vowels.

In the Middle English period, there were no standard spellings, but ⟨w⟩ was sometimes used to represent either a vowel or a consonant sound in the same way that Modern English does with ⟨y⟩, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. This vocalic ⟨w⟩ generally represented /uː/,^[3][4] as in wss («use»).^[5] However at that time the form ⟨w⟩ was still sometimes used to represent a digraph ⟨uu⟩ (see W), not as a separate letter. This practice exists in modern Welsh orthography so that words borrowed from Welsh may use ⟨w⟩ this way, such as:

• The crwth^[6] (pronounced /ˈkrʊθ/ or /ˈkruːθ/, also spelled cruth in English) is a Welsh musical instrument similar to the violin)^[7]

He intricately rhymes, to the music of crwth and pibgorn.^[8] in the Welsh alphabet W is a vowel so this word should not be counted.

• cwtch (a hiding place or cubby hole) is also from Welsh (albeit a recent word influenced by English, and used almost exclusively in the variant of English spoken in Wales, not in standard English), and crwth and cwtch are the longest English dictionary words without ⟨a, e, i, o, u, y⟩ according to Collins Dictionary.^[9] in the Welsh alphabet W is a vowel so this word should not be counted.
• A cwm^[10] (pronounced /ˈkuːm/) is used in English in a technical geographical or mountaineering context to mean a deep hollow in a mountainous area, usually with steep edges on some sides, like a corrie or cirque, such as the Western Cwm of Mount Everest. It is also sometimes used, by way of more recent borrowing from Welsh, in a more general sense of a valley. The spellings coombe, combe, coomb, and comb come from the Old English cumb,^[11] which appears either to be a much earlier borrowing from a predecessor of modern Welsh, or to have an even earlier origin, given that there was an ancient Greek word κὑμβη (kumbē) meaning a hollow vessel.^[12] In English literature, one can find the spellings combe (as in Ilfracombe and Castle Combe), coomb (as in J. R. R. Tolkien) or comb (as in Alfred, Lord Tennyson).

There are also numerous vowelless interjections and onomatopoeia found more or less frequently, including brr (brrr is occasionally accepted^{[clarification needed]}), bzzt, grrr, hm, hmm, mm, mmm, mhmm, sksksksk,^[13][14] pfft, pht, phpht,^[7] psst, sh, shh, zzz.

Alphabetical list of words without vowels A, E, I, O, U[edit]

B

Brr

Brrr

By(s)

Byrl(s)

Bzzt

C

Ch

Chynd

Cly

Crwth(s)

Cry

Crypt(s)

Cwm(s)

Cyst(s)

D

Dry(ly)(s)

F

Fly

Flyby

Fry

Fy

Fyrd(s)

G

Ghyll(s)

Glycyl(s)

Glyph(s)

Grrl

Grrr

Gyp

Gyppy

Gyp(s)

Gypsy

H

Hm

Hmm

Hwyl(s)

Hymn(s)

Hyp(s)

J

Jynx

K

Ky

L

Lym(s)

Lymph(s)

Lynch

Lyncx

M

Mhmm

Mm

Mmm

My

Myrrh(s)

Myth

N

Nth

Ny(s)

Nymph(ly)(s)

P

Pfft

Ph(s)

Phpht

Pht

Ply

Pry(s)

Psst

Psych

Pygmy

Pyx

R

Rhy

Rhythm(s)

Rng

Rynd(s)

S

Scry

Sh

Shh

Shrthnd

Shy(ly)

Sknch

Sksksksk

Sky

Skyr

Sly(ly)

Spry(ly)

Spy

Sty

Stymy

Swy

Sylph(s)

Syn

Sync(s)

Synch(s)

Synd(s)

T

Thy

Thymy

Try

Tryp(s)

Tryst(s)

Tsk(s)

Tsktsk(s)

Twp

Tyg(s)

Typp(s)

V

Vly

W

Wyn(s)

Wynn

Why(s)

Wry (ly)

Wss

Wych

Wyn

Wynd(s)

Wynn(s)

X

Xlnt

Xylyl(s)

Xyst(s)

Y

Ympt

Z

Zzz

Alphabetical list of words without vowels A, E, I, O, U, and Y.[edit]

B

Brr

Brrr

Bzzt

C

Ch

Crwth(s)

Cwm(s)

Cwtch

G

Grrl

Grrr

H

Hm

Hmm

M

Mhmm

Mm

Mmm

N

Nth

P

Pfft

Ph(s)

Phpht

Pht

Psst

R

Rng

S

Sh

Shh

Sknch

Sksksksk

T

Tsk(s)

Tsktsk(s)

Twp

W

Wss

X

Xlnt

Z

Zzz

Words without vowel sounds[edit]

Weak forms of function words may be realized without vowel sounds, as in I can go [aɪ kŋ̍ ˈɡoʊ] and I must sell [aɪ ms̩ ˈsɛl].^[15] Some of these forms are reflected in orthography as contractions, such as ‘s, ‘ll, ‘d, and n’t.

See also[edit]

• Wiktionary:List of words that comprise a single sound
• Disemvoweling – Removal of vowels from a text
• Words without vowels in other languages

References[edit]

It’s very interesting to know and understand the words without vowels.

Many words are made up of vowels and consonants. The difference between the two is due to the way the letters are pronounced. Vowel (a, e, i, o, you are also in English) is a spoken sound made with the mouth open and without the tongue touching the roof of the mouth, teeth, etc. You can break the spoken sound completely or slightly block the flow of air through the mouth.

But are there words in English without vowels at all? 

Yes, you will be surprised to know that there are more than a hundred words that do not have vowels, but most of these are initialism (abbreviations containing initials called separately) such as HTML, DVD, and LBD. Then there are words like fly, myth, and psych that do not have a, e, i, o, or u, but have ‘y’ that acts as a vowel.

English Words without Vowels with Meanings

Following are examples of words with no vowels in them:

Word	Meaning
Brr	An exclamation used to express someone’s reaction to feeling cold.
Cwm	A cirque, especially one in the mountains of Wales.
Cwtch	A cupboard or cubbyhole. A cuddle or hug.
Grrl	A young woman regarded as independent and strong or aggressive.
Hmm	An exclamation used to express reflection, uncertainty, or hesitation:
Mm	An exclamation used to express contentment or pleasure.
Nth	Denoting an unspecified item or instance in a series, typically the last or latest in a long series.
Pfft	Used to represent a dull abrupt sound as of a slight impact or explosion.
Psst	An exclamation used to attract someone’s attention surreptitiously.
Sh	An exclamation used to call for silence.
Tch	An exclamation used to express irritation, annoyance, or impatience.
Tsk	An exclamation used to express irritation, annoyance, or impatience.
Xlnt	An informal abbreviation of excellent.

Let us work on more English words without vowels, and we use such words quite often:

Dry	Gym	Psst	Why
Cry	Hmm	Lymph	Whys
Brr	Cysts	Drys	Wry
Cyst	Dryly	Ply	Thy
Fly	Lynch	Sylph	Thymy
Gypsy	Myths	Spy	Try
Crypt	Myths	Slyly	Why
Fry	Nymph	Sly	Wynd

Five and Six Letter Words without Vowels

Let us work on five and six letter words without vowels in a tabular form:

Five Letter Words	MEANING
MYRRH	A gum resin used in making incense
Pygmy	Any person, animal or plant that is abnormally undersized
Shyly	In a shy manner
Crwth	An ancient Celtic instrument
Phpht	Interjection to indicate mild annoyance

Six Letter Words	MEANING
Rhythm	Regular repeated pattern of movement or sound
Syzygy	A pair of connected or corresponding things.
Sylphy	The nearly straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies
Spryly	Lively, active, and brisk; vigorous.
Smyths	Smyth is an early variant of the common surname

Further, the longest word having seven letters which has none of the five vowels is: Nymphly

However, two six letters word which is Glycyl and Rhythm can as well be considered as seven letters word if we add “s” at the end of each word.

Quick Links

Word games like Wordle are dominating the internet, and they can be really tricky.

Most English words have vowels, but there are a few that don’t contain the letters A, E, I, O, or U. In fact, there are over 120 words without vowels in the English language. It’s easy to overlook such words when you’re playing a game.

Why would you need to know 5-letter words with no vowels?

If you’re playing a game like Wordle or Quordle, and you’ve tried all five vowels to no avail, it’s time to guess words without vowels.

Or maybe you know which vowels are in the word, but you need to eliminate several consonants at a time to help fill in the blanks. Guessing 5-letter words with no vowels is a great way to rule out letters.

Or maybe you’re playing a good old-fashioned game of Scrabble, and you have no vowels in front of you.

Knowing some 5-letter words with no vowels is a great way to dominate at both new and classic word-based games.

You might wonder if 5-letter words without vowels actually exist. The letter Y often functions as a vowel in English words. But Y isn’t one of the five main vowels, so the bulk of the list includes the letter Y.

Almost every 5-letter word with no vowels in English contains at least one Y.

In fact, there are only five words on this list without a Y. Crwth and cwtch are Welsh words that English has adopted.

Grrrl and grrls are slang words, and phpht is a commonly accepted onomatopoeic word.

Studying word lists like this one can help improve your overall vocabulary, whether you’re a Wordle addict or Words with Friends fanatic.

Worldle, Quordle, and Octordle all use 5-letter words for each clue. Five-letter words are also a great way to clear out several tiles on Scrabble.

Since The New York Times took over Wordle, they’ve gathered followers for their other daily games like Spelling Bee.

Spelling Bee requires you to guess words with at least four letters but gives you more points for bigger words.

So if you love al types of word puzzles, this list of words without vowels is for you.

List of 5-Letter Words With No Vowels

Let’s dive into the list. Without further ado, here are 53 ultimate 5-letter words without vowels for you to use in your next word game.

• Byrls
• Chynd
• Crwth
• Crypt
• Cwtch
• Cysts
• Dryly
• Flyby
• Fyrds
• Ghyll
• Glyph
• Grrls
• Grrrl
• Grypt
• Gymps
• Gynny
• Gyppy
• Gypsy
• Hwyls
• Hymns
• Hyphy
• Kydst
• Kynds
• Lymph
• Myrrh
• Myths
• Mythy
• Nymph
• Phpht
• Psych
• Pygmy
• Rynds
• Shyly
• Skyfs
• Skyrs
• Slyly
• Stymy
• Sylph
• Synch
• Syncs
• Synds
• Synth
• Syphs
• Thymy
• Tryps
• Tryst
• Tymps
• Typps
• Wryly
• Wynds
• Wynns
• Xylyl
• Xysts

Some of these 5-letter words are more common than others. It’s a good idea to guess words like lymph or syncs before guessing tryps or xylyl.

We hope this list of 5-letter words with no vowels helps you win your word puzzles and games—and impress your friends with your exceptional vocabulary skills.

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Page 1: ch, sh, ck, sky, my, BR, Cr, cl, by, fly, try, cry, hm, BB, mm, BS, cp, sty, rhythm, sly, gym, shy, bt, BD, CD, bbs, sync, cc, CF, MVP, dry, why, nth, Bk, Gypsy, cb, THC, bm, cm, PhD, TNT, DVD, bp, std, bg, spy, GPS, bz, LSD, and cyst

You are searching for all words that do not have vowels. Since a vowel is a,e,i,o,u and sometimes y, you might want to search for words with no vowels that do not have the letter y! But, You Go Words provides abbreviations for the most common word/phrases which makes it difficult to find words with no vowels and no y. What to do, is view the words with no vowels (no aeiou) and determine which words would not classify the letter y as a vowel.

Word	Length	Consonants	Vowels	Syllables	Origin	Favourite
Ch	2	2	0	1	Old English
Sh	2	2	0	1
Ck	2	2	0	1
Sky	3	3	0	1	Middle English
My	2	2	0	1	Middle English
BR	2	2	0	1
Cr	2	2	0	1
Cl	2	2	0	1
By	2	2	0	1	Old English
Fly	3	3	0	1	Old English
Try	3	3	0	1	Middle English
Cry	3	3	0	1	Middle English
Hm	2	2	0	1
BB	2	2	0	1	English
Mm	2	2	0	1
BS	2	2	0	1
Cp	2	2	0	1
Sty	3	3	0	1	Middle English
Rhythm	6	6	0	1	Latin
Sly	3	3	0	1	Middle English
Gym	3	3	0	1
Shy	3	3	0	1	Middle English
Bt	2	2	0	1
BD	2	2	0	1
CD	2	2	0	1	English
Bbs	3	3	0	1
Sync	4	4	0	1
Cc	2	2	0	1
CF	2	2	0	1
MVP	3	3	0	1
Dry	3	3	0	1	Middle English
Why	3	3	0	1	Middle English
Nth	3	3	0	1
Bk	2	2	0	1
Gypsy	5	5	0	2	Middle English
Cb	2	2	0	1
THC	3	3	0	1
Bm	2	2	0	1
Cm	2	2	0	1
PhD	3	3	0	1
TNT	3	3	0	1
DVD	3	3	0	1	English
Bp	2	2	0	1
Std	3	3	0	1
Bg	2	2	0	1
Spy	3	3	0	1	Middle English
GPS	3	3	0	1
Bz	2	2	0	1
LSD	3	3	0	1	Latin
Cyst	4	4	0	1	Latin

In non-rhotic English dialects, such as Received Pronunciation, every lexical word must contain at least one spoken vowel in its pronunciation. In rhotic dialects, such as General American, a word may contain no other vowel sounds if it instead has an R sound, as in «word.»

However, there are many words that do not contain a vowel letter (defined as A, E, I, O, U) in their written form. In most of these, such as «try,» the letter Y stands for a vowel sound. (Abbreviations such as «km» are of course not considered words in their own right.)

There are also some truly vowelless interjections and onomatopoeia which do not contain R.

Words without vowel letters

A large number of Modern English words spell the IPAEng|ɪ or IPA|/aɪ/ sound with the letter Y, such as «cry, by, sky, why, wry, spy, gym, crypt, hymn, lynx, myth, glyph, tryst, nymph, Gypsy, pygmy, flyby,» and «syzygy.» The longest such word in common use is «rhythms,» and the longest such word in Modern English is the obsolete 17th-century word «.» (If archaic words and spellings are considered, there are many more, the longest perhaps being «twyndyllyngs,» the plural of «.»)

In the computer game «The 7th Guest», one of the puzzles involves a vowelless sentence,:»Shy gypsy slyly spryly tryst by my crypt.»

Similarly, the letter «w» stands for a vowel sound (IPA|/u/) in Welsh words, and two of these have entered Modern English:
*The «crwth» (pronounced IPA|/ˈkrʊθ/ or IPA|/ˈkruːθ/ and also spelled «cruth») is a Welsh musical instrument similar to the violin::»He intricately rhymes, to the music of crwth and pibgorn.» [Dylan Thomas, «Under Milk Wood,» 1954]
*A «cwm» (pronounced IPA|/ˈkuːm/) is a deep hollow within a mountain, usually with steep edges, such as the Western Cwm of Mount Everest. However, it is nearly always spelled «combe» (as in Ilfracombe and Castle Combe), «coomb» (as in J. R. R. Tolkien) or «comb» (as in Alfred, Lord Tennyson).

There is also the mathematical expression «n»^th (pronounced IPA|/ɛnθ/), as in «delighted to the nth degree,» which has entered common usage.

Many acronyms contain no vowels, such as MC and DJ (also spelled «emcee» and «deejay)» for Master of Ceremonies and disc jockey.

Words without vowel sounds

Rhotic dialects, such as in the United States and Canada, have many words such as «bird, learn, girl, church, worst,» which some phoneticians analyze as having no vowels, only a syllabic consonant, IPA| [ɹ̩] . However, others analyze these words instead as having a rhotic vowel, IPA| [ɝ] . The difference may be partially one of dialect.

There are a few such words which are disyllabic, like «cursor, curtain,» and «tercel:» IPA| [ˈkɹ̩sɹ̩] , IPA| [ˈkɹ̩tn̩] and IPA| [ˈtɹ̩sl̩] (or IPA| [ˈkɝsɚ] , IPA| [ˈkɝtən] , and IPA| [ˈtɝsəl] ). The word «myrrh,» perhaps uniquely in the English language, contains neither a vowel letter nor a vowel sound in these dialects: IPA| [ˈmɹ̩] (or IPA| [ˈmɝ] ).

The word «and» frequently contracts to a simple nasal consonant «’n,» as in «lock ‘n key» IPA| [ˌlɒk ŋ ˈkiː] . Words such as «will, have,» and «is» regularly contract to «’ll» [l] , «’ve» [v] , and «’s» [z] . However, none of them are pronounced alone without vowels.

Onomatopoeic words that can be pronounced alone, and which have no vowels or Rs, include «hmm, pht!, pst!, shh!, tsk!,» and «zzz».

Other languages

There are languages that form lexical words without any vowel sounds. The best known are probably the Slavic languages. In Croatian, for example, the consonants IPA| [r] and IPA| [rː] (the difference is not written) can act as a syllable nucleus and carry rising or falling tone; examples include the tongue-twister «na vrh brda vrba mrda» and geographic names such as «Krk». In Czech, either IPA| [l] or IPA| [r] can stand in for vowels: «vlk» IPA| [vl̩k] «wolf», «krk» IPA| [kr̩k] «neck». A particularly long word without vowels is «čtvrthrst,» meaning «quarter-handful», with two syllables (one for each R). Whole sentences can be made from such words, such as «Strč prst skrz krk,» meaning «stick a finger through your neck» (follow the link for a sound file), and «Smrž pln skvrn zvlhl z mlh» «A morel full of spots wetted from fogs». (Here «zvlhl» has two syllables based on L; note that the preposition «z» consists of a single consonant. Only prepositions do this in Czech, and they normally link phonetically to the following noun, so do not really behave as vowelless words.) In Russian, there are also prepositions that consist of a single consonant letter, like «k» «to», «v» «in», and «s» «with». As in Czech, and English «’ll, ’ve, ’s, etc.,» they do not normally occur alone.

So far, all of these syllabic consonants, at least in the lexical words, have been sonorants, such as [r] , [l] , [m] , and [n] , which have a voicing quality similar to vowels. However, there are languages with words that not only contain no vowels, but contain no sonorants at all, like «shh!» in English. These include Lolo, a few dialects of Berber, some of the northwestern Bantu languages, and some languages of the American Pacific Northwest, such as Nuxálk. An example from the latter is «sxs» «seal fat» (pronounced|sxs, as spelled), and a longer one is «unicode|xłp̓x̣ʷłtłpłłskʷc̓» (pronounced|xɬpʼχʷɬtʰɬpʰɬːskʷʰʦʼ) «he had had in his possession a bunchberry plant». (Follow the Nuxálk link for other examples.) Such words cannot be said very loud, as the human voice can only be loud when pronouncing sonorants.

In Mandarin Chinese, words and syllables such as «sī» and «zhī» are sometimes described as being syllabic fricatives and affricates phonemically, IPA|/ś/ and IPA|/tʂ́/, but phonetically they contain a sonorant segment that carries the tone.

References

Debatable but there is a list on Wikipedia which seems to classify these based on dialect

Rhotic dialects, such as in Canada and the United States, have many
words such as bird, learn, girl, church, worst, which some
phoneticians analyze as having no vowels, only a syllabic consonant,
[ɹ̩]. However, others analyze these words instead as having a rhotic
vowel, [ɝ]. The difference may be partially one of dialect.

There are a few such words which are disyllabic, like cursor, curtain,
and turtle: [ˈkɹ̩sɹ̩], [ˈkɹ̩tn̩] and [ˈtɹ̩tl̩] (or [ˈkɝːsɚ],
[ˈkɝːtən], and [ˈtɝːtəl]), and even a few which are trisyllabic, such
as purpler [ˈpɹ̩.pl̩.ɹ̩], hurdler [ˈhɹ̩.dl̩.ɹ̩], burglar
[ˈbɹ̩.ɡl̩.ɹ̩], gurgler [ˈɡɹ̩.ɡl̩.ɹ̩], certainer [ˈsɹ̩.tn̩.ɹ̩], and
Ur-turtle [ˈɹ̩.tɹ̩.tl̩]. The words wyrm and myrrh contain neither a
vowel letter nor a vowel sound in these dialects: [ˈwɹ̩m], [ˈmɹ̩] (or
[ˈwɝːm], [ˈmɝː]).

It’s a question that just about every English learner has asked: “Are there any English words that have no vowels?”

The answer to this depends what you mean by “vowel” and “word.”

In this article, we explain what vowel means and how English words without vowels can—and do!—exist. We also talk about the examples that some people may or may not believe are actually words.

Are there words with no vowels?

There are two things we mean by the word vowel: a speech sound made with the vocal tract open, or a letter of the alphabet standing for a spoken vowel.

Cwm and crwth do not contain the letters a, e, i, o, u, or y, the usual vowels (that is, the usual symbols that stand for vowel sounds) in English. But in those words the letter w simply serves instead, standing for the same sound that oo stands for in the words boom and booth. Dr., nth (as in “to the nth degree”), and TV also do not contain any vowel symbols, but they, like cwm and crwth, do contain vowel sounds.

Shh, psst, and hmm do not have vowels, either vowel symbols or vowel sounds. There is some controversy whether they are in fact “words,” however. But if a word is “the smallest unit of grammar that can stand alone as a complete utterance, separated by spaces in written language and potentially by pauses in speech,” then those do qualify. Psst, though, is the only one that appears in the Oxford English Dictionary.

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