The words with their vowels removed
Each word arrives with every vowel stripped out and turned into an empty box, while the consonants stay put to give you a scaffold. You tap the vowel buttons, A, E, I, O and U, to fill the boxes from left to right, and once they are all filled the game checks the word: right earns a point and brings up a new word, while a near miss clears the vowels so you can try a different fit. Hint will drop in the next correct vowel whenever you want a little help.
Let the consonants lead you
The consonants already on screen are the biggest clue, so read them aloud and let your ear suggest what the word wants to be: c_t almost sings out cat. Many short words settle a single vowel between two consonants, so if nothing comes, testing A and then E first will often click. And the Hint button is always there to reveal the next vowel and get you moving again.
Learning how words are built
By stripping out just the vowels, the game makes the split between vowels and consonants concrete rather than a rule to memorize, since a child feels how a word collapses without its A, E, I, O and U. Rebuilding it forces attention onto the sound each vowel carries and where it belongs, which is the heart of decoding a word while reading. It is a small, focused workout in how the pieces of a word actually fit together.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Missing Vowels?
A word is shown with its vowels taken out, leaving blank spaces. Tap the vowels A, E, I, O and U to fill the blanks and spell the word correctly. Use a hint if you get stuck.
What are vowels?
The vowels are A, E, I, O and U. Every other letter is a consonant. In this game the consonants are already shown, and you fill in the missing vowels.
Why are only the vowels taken out?
Because the consonants carry most of a word skeleton, leaving them in place gives you a clue while still making you think. The vowels are the sounds that hold a word together, so putting them back is where the real reading work happens. It is also a clear, hands-on way to see which letters count as vowels and which do not.