English words with silent letters - Free English lesson The English language has a lot of silent letters. Silent letters cause difficulties for English learners, because they make the spelling of words different from their pronunciation. Here’s a list of common words with silent letters. Words beginning with a silent letters K- know, knee, knife, knit, knuckle P- psychology, psychiatrist, pneumonia W- wrap, wrinkle, wrath, write, wrist Silent words that are in between the words S- Isle, aisle, island t- listen, soften, castle, often, debt l- should, could, would