Handshape 3 represents the consonant phonemes /hhhhhhhhh, sssssssss, rrrrrrrrr/. It is frequently introduced early in an introductory curriculum (often following handshape 5). Because it represents the phoneme /sssssssss/, it is important for pluralization (e.g., cats), possessives (e.g., Chip's), and verb agreement (e.g., he walks).
Mnemonic Phrases
- horse
- sea horse
- red hot sun
- horrible reeking stench
- rattlesnakes hiss
Practice
Handshape 3 and Vowels
air, C, cease, ear, hairy, hare, hearse, her, here, hi, high, higher, hoe, horse, hour, house, how, or, our, race, rear, recess, rehearse, rice, row, rye, sauce, saucer, see, sew, sigh, so, sour, soy, who
Handshape 3 and Other Handshape Cues
base, best, Claire, crops, feast, fire, ghosts, green, grew, help, leased, must, red, roof, sail, same, scraped, skull, space, stairs, streets, strong, suit, through, tossed, trunks, whole
More Practice
20,000+ Words that Use Handshape 3 - created by the Word List Generator
See Also