Half of every phonics screening check is alien words: made-up words like jigh, phope and splote that a child can only read by sounding them out. Here are all 260 of them from the 13 published papers (2012 to 2026), grouped by year. A few come back in more than one year, so there are 257 different ones.
They make a good warm-up: read one year's twenty a night, and look for the letter team that slows your child down. For why they exist and how to practise them without worksheets, see Alien words, explained.
Every alien word, 2012 to 2026
2026 · alien words
- ips
- jad
- tep
- kib
- qued
- shars
- dorl
- vaff
- zint
- veest
- crort
- skop
- phime
- jair
- yurp
- plute
- grusp
- gloast
- splace
- scrant
2025 · alien words
- dup
- hib
- gox
- ags
- yech
- quog
- chuss
- loip
- pult
- heeft
- clen
- stizz
- phope
- jigh
- virp
- saunt
- sleft
- thresk
- spleg
- strume
2024 · alien words
- nop
- yim
- zeg
- ild
- jick
- sheb
- quish
- deeg
- sint
- doilt
- brop
- sleen
- cheve
- bew
- baup
- clune
- blenk
- froast
- scrup
- sprace
2023 · alien words
- fod
- bep
- zat
- ult
- heng
- shob
- farn
- chesh
- trun
- glork
- remp
- deebs
- jer
- drave
- teap
- phibe
- slimp
- craint
- splet
- strave
2022 · alien words
- bem
- dax
- kig
- eld
- besh
- quab
- barp
- chell
- grux
- smung
- nesk
- foint
- vair
- cloat
- tirt
- whike
- plunt
- flards
- spran
- splew
2019 · alien words
- sut
- yad
- dop
- uct
- meck
- shig
- joil
- chort
- blem
- drell
- fusp
- quisk
- vaw
- meast
- waib
- zome
- spraw
- throst
- brend
- stret
2018 · alien words
- wup
- jub
- eps
- reb
- vuss
- quop
- zook
- chack
- skap
- blorn
- meft
- veems
- var
- slirt
- weaf
- pobe
- flisp
- braint
- scrid
- splote
2017 · alien words
- dat
- cag
- rin
- ept
- jash
- quib
- coid
- quass
- glog
- blard
- disp
- murbs
- tay
- sloam
- zued
- meve
- clend
- braits
- scrug
- splue
2016 · alien words
- lig
- mep
- gax
- emp
- beff
- shup
- doil
- charb
- frex
- criff
- haps
- barst
- jigh
- woats
- rird
- phope
- glips
- floost
- splam
- stribe
2015 · alien words
- fip
- pon
- hab
- ulb
- dack
- chob
- nurt
- queet
- plap
- froin
- melp
- heent
- yair
- blies
- keam
- whape
- braft
- thrant
- sprop
- strow
2014 · alien words
- vol
- teg
- jat
- ind
- tull
- shog
- foid
- thard
- frem
- cloin
- bulm
- harnd
- jair
- clain
- yewn
- tabe
- clisk
- thrand
- strad
- scroy
2013 · alien words
- fot
- keb
- gan
- ulp
- poth
- shan
- veen
- quorg
- drap
- flarm
- lect
- voisk
- quigh
- herks
- jorb
- zale
- bluns
- skarld
- splot
- strabe
2012 · alien words
- pib
- vus
- yop
- elt
- desh
- chab
- poil
- queep
- stin
- proom
- sarps
- thend
- kigh
- girst
- baim
- yune
- flods
- groiks
- strom
- splaw
Every alien word from the phonics screening check, 2012 to 2026 · Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0 · phonogramfun.com/learn
The patterns that come up most
Counting every letter team across all 260 alien words, these appear most often:
| Letter team | Times in alien words |
|---|---|
| ar | 13 |
| sh | 12 |
| oi | 12 |
| qu | 12 |
| ch | 10 |
| ee | 10 |
| ai | 10 |
| th | 7 |
Words used in more than one paper: jair (2014, 2026); jigh (2016, 2025); phope (2016, 2025).
One page per year
Each year has its own page with the 40 words in the order children read them, alien and real words together: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
Questions parents ask
How many alien words are in the phonics screening check?
20 of the 40 words are alien words. They are words 1 to 12 and 21 to 28.
Will these exact alien words be in next year's check?
Very unlikely. Most words are new each year, and the check is designed so that memorising words gives no advantage. Use these lists to practise the sounds, not the words.
Why does the check use alien words?
Because a child can't have memorised a made-up word. Reading one shows they can turn letters into sounds and blend them, which is the skill the check is measuring.