Fry Sight Words (First 100, in Frequency Order)

Quick answer

The Fry sight words are 1,000 high-frequency words ranked by how often they appear in print, compiled by Dr. Edward Fry. The first 100 — starting the, of, and, a, to — make up roughly half of all the words in typical children’s reading material, so they are usually learned first, in kindergarten and first grade. Unlike the Dolch list, which groups 220 words by grade level, the Fry list is ordered purely by frequency and includes nouns. Below are the first 100 Fry words in frequency order.

Kindergarten Sight Words

All 52 Dolch primer sight words every kindergartner learns to read on sight, with a simple example sentence and pronunciation for each. Native-audio flashcards with spaced repetition — buy once, no subscription.

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Fry words 1–25

The 25 most frequent words in English. A child who reads these on sight can already follow a big share of any sentence.

Sight Words	Pronunciation	Meaning
the	thuh	The cat is big.
of	uv	I want a cup of milk.
and	and	Mom and I play.
a	uh	I see a dog.
to	too	I go to play.
in	in	The dog is in.
is	iz	The ball is red.
you	yoo	I see you.
that	that	That is my dog.
it	it	I see it.
he	hee	He is my dad.
was	wuz	The day was fun.
for	for	This is for you.
on	on	The cat is on the bed.
are	ar	We are so happy.
as	az	He is as tall as me.
with	with	I play with my dog.
his	hiz	This is his hat.
they	thay	They are my cats.
I	eye	I can jump.
at	at	The cat is at home.
be	bee	Be good to the dog.
this	this	This is my cake.
have	hav	I have a red ball.
from	frum	I am from a big town.

Fry words 26–50

Sight Words	Pronunciation	Meaning
or	or	Do you want milk or juice?
one	wun	I see one dog.
had	had	I had a red ball.
by	bye	Sit by the window.
words	wurdz	We read the words in the book.
but	but	I like cake but not bugs.
not	not	It is not big.
what	wut	What is that?
all	awl	We ate all the cake.
were	wur	We were at the park.
we	wee	We can play.
when	wen	When do we go home?
your	yor	Is this your red hat?
can	kan	I can jump.
said	sed	Mom said to me.
there	thair	The ball is there.
use	yooz	I use a spoon to eat.
an	an	I ate an egg.
each	eech	Each kid has a book.
which	wich	Which shirt do you like?
she	shee	She is my mom.
do	doo	Do you like cake?
how	how	How do you fly a kite?
their	thair	The kids lost their ball.
if	if	We can play if it stops raining.

Fry words 51–75

Sight Words	Pronunciation	Meaning
will	wil	I will play soon.
up	up	I look up.
other	uth-er	I want the other ball.
about	uh-bowt	We read a book about frogs.
out	owt	The dog ran out.
many	MEN-ee	There are many stars tonight.
then	then	We ate, then we played.
them	them	Give the books to them.
these	theez	These apples are very sweet.
so	soh	I am so happy.
some	sum	I want some milk.
her	hur	This is her book.
would	wood	I would like some water.
make	mayk	I make a big cake.
like	lyke	I like my dog.
him	him	Give the ball to him.
into	in-too	The cat ran into the box.
time	tyme	It is time for lunch.
has	haz	He has a big dog.
look	look	Look at my dog.
two	too	I see two dogs.
more	mor	May I have more cake?
write	ryt (sounds like right)	I write my name neatly.
go	goh	We go to play.
see	see	I see a dog.

Fry words 76–100

Sight Words	Pronunciation	Meaning
number	num-ber	Pick a number from one to ten.
no	noh	I have no cake.
way	way	This is the way home.
could	kood	I could run very fast.
people	pee-pul	Many people are at the park.
my	my	My cat is big.
than	than	I am taller than my brother.
first	furst	She was first in line.
water	waw-ter	I drink water with lunch.
been	bin	I have been to the zoo.
called	kawld	Mom called my name.
who	hoo	Who is that?
oil	oyl	Dad cooks with a little oil.
sit	sit	Please sit on the chair.
now	now	We play now.
find	fynd	I can find my cat.
long	lawng	The green snake is very long.
down	down	I sit down.
day	day	It is a sunny day.
did	did	Did you see the cat?
get	get	I get the ball.
come	kum	Come and play with me.
made	mayd	We made a sandcastle today.
may	may	May I go now?
part	part	This is my part of the room.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Fry and Dolch sight words?

Dolch is a 220-word list (plus 95 nouns) grouped into five grade levels from Pre-K to third grade. Fry is a newer, longer list of 1,000 words ranked purely by frequency, in groups of 100, and it includes nouns. The first 100 Fry words overlap heavily with the Dolch list, so children practicing either list learn largely the same core words.

How many Fry words should a child learn?

The usual guidance is the first 100 in kindergarten and first grade, the second 100 in second grade, and the third 100 in third grade. The first 300 Fry words make up about two-thirds of everything children read.

Should I teach Fry words in frequency order?

Yes, roughly. Frequency order front-loads the words a child will actually meet on every page, which pays off immediately in real reading. Most teachers work through them in small batches of five to ten words at a time.

What is the best way to practice Fry sight words?

Short daily sessions where the child sees the word, hears it, says it, and reads it in a simple sentence. Spaced repetition, which brings a word back just before it is forgotten, builds automatic recognition faster than drilling the whole list.

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