What Are Compound Words?
Why Learn Compound Words?
Children begin learning compound words in The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts Level 1 course. They learn that a compound word is made of two words joined together. Learning to read compound words introduces new readers to longer words.
Children in Language Arts Level 1 read simple one- to two-syllable words like bath, tub, butter,and fly. Joining words like these into compound words boosts confidence as children read longer words with ease. Learn more about our FREE homeschool curriculum.
Compound Words for Kids
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Click Here for FREE Download
We’ve created a list of more than 300 common compound words for kids. A printable version of this list is in our free download below.
Compound Words for Advanced Readers
The compound words shared so far in this blog are called closed compound words; two words joined together to form a single new word. Two other types of compound words are open and hyphenated.
Readers recognize open compound words as two separate words that team up to have one joint meaning. For example, “peanut butter” is made of two separate words that team together to form one meaning. Here are some other examples.
When to Hyphenate Compound Words
Knowing when to use a hyphen or space between compound words can be tricky. The easiest way to learn when to use each is by becoming familiar with seeing them in print. Reading great books like those on our FREE Book List builds children’s vocabulary and helps them know when to hyphenate words!
Reading great books builds children’s vocabulary!
Hyphenated compound words are easy to identify by a hyphen, rather than a space, used between each word. The rules for when to use a hyphen in a compound word can be a bit confusing.
For example, in the sentence, “He took a year-long journey through South America,” a hyphen is used between the words year and long because the words are used as an adjective.
Used as nouns, however, hyphenated compound words look like this: “We gave the traveler a big send-off as he boarded the plane.”
Download our free Compound Words list, with more than 300 words!
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