Are there words without vowels

Most words are, of course, made up of vowels and consonants. The distinction between these stems from the way the letters are spoken. A vowel a , e , i, o , and u in English is a spoken sound made with the mouth open and without the tongue touching the roof of the mouth, teeth, etc.

A consonant is a spoken sound made by completely or partially blocking the flow of air breathed out through the mouth. All the other letters are consonants, though y can be regarded as either a vowel or a consonant , depending upon how it is pronounced in different words.

The answer is slightly different depending on what you consider a word. There are over entries in OxfordDictionaries. If you exclude initialisms and words with y , there are still a handful of words that are written without a, e, i, o, u, or y:. Pyx : A small container for carrying the Eucharist.

Rhythm s : A recurring movement of sound or speech. Wry : A mocking, biting or sarcastic sort of humor. Xyst s : A long and open portico in a gymnasium. There are two obscure words that use W as their singular vowel, both taken from Welsh.

Since W by itself is worth 4 points in both Scrabble and Words With Friends, these words are pure gold for players in need. They are:. These do exist! Thank that old spelling bee favorite, onomatopoeia. More specifically, thank the remarkable power of the human voice, because even with alternate pronunciations, we can make an awful lot of sounds not summed up by AEIOU, or Y, or W. Onomatopoeias sometimes lack vowels because some vocalizations lack vowel analogues.

A few other oddities also sneak in, ready to help toss unwanted letters and get some As and Es into your hand. Brrr or brr : An expression of being cold. Phpht or pht : Interjection to indicate mild annoyance. Psst : An interjection to attract someone's attention. The only sure rule in English is that English has no sure rules.