Kindergarten Sight Words (Full Dolch Primer List)

Quick answer

The 52 kindergarten sight words are the Dolch primer list, the high-frequency words a child learns to read on sight in kindergarten: all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, did, do, eat, four, get, good, have, he, into, like, must, new, no, now, on, our, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, will, with, yes. Most kindergartners are expected to master these 52 words by the end of the year, on top of the 40 pre-primer words from Pre-K. Below is the full list with a sample sentence for each.

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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All 52 kindergarten sight words (Dolch primer)

Each word with a simple example sentence. These build on the 40 Pre-K (pre-primer) words.

Sight Words	Pronunciation	Meaning
all	awl	We ate all the cake.
am	am	I am a big kid.
are	ar	We are so happy.
at	at	The cat is at home.
ate	ayt	I ate the cake.
be	bee	Be good to the dog.
black	blak	I have a black cat.
brown	brown	The dog is brown.
but	but	I like cake but not bugs.
came	kaym	Mom came home.
did	did	Did you see the cat?
do	doo	Do you like cake?
eat	eet	We eat cake now.
four	for	I have four cats.
get	get	I get the ball.
good	gud	You are a good dog.
have	hav	I have a red ball.
he	hee	He is my dad.
into	in-too	The cat ran into the box.
like	lyke	I like my dog.
must	must	We must go now.
new	noo	I have a new ball.
no	noh	I have no cake.
now	now	We play now.
on	on	The cat is on the bed.
our	ow-er	This is our dog.
out	owt	The dog ran out.
please	pleez	Please give me cake.
pretty	prit-ee	The cat is pretty.
ran	ran	The dog ran fast.
ride	ryde	I ride my bike.
saw	saw	I saw a big dog.
say	say	Say hi to mom.
she	shee	She is my mom.
so	soh	I am so happy.
soon	soon	Mom will be home soon.
that	that	That is my dog.
there	thair	The ball is there.
they	thay	They are my cats.
this	this	This is my cake.
too	too	I want cake too.
under	un-der	The cat is under the bed.
want	wont	I want the ball.
was	wuz	The day was fun.
well	wel	I feel well today.
went	went	We went to the park.
what	wut	What is that?
white	wyte	I have a white cat.
who	hoo	Who is that?
will	wil	I will play soon.
with	with	I play with my dog.
yes	yes	Yes, I want cake.

Frequently asked questions

How many sight words should a kindergartner know?

By the end of kindergarten, children are typically expected to read the 52 Dolch primer words on sight, in addition to the 40 pre-primer words introduced in Pre-K, for a running total of about 92 words.

What is the difference between pre-primer and primer sight words?

Pre-primer is the first Dolch set (40 words), usually taught in Pre-K and early kindergarten. Primer is the next set (52 words), the core kindergarten list. A child generally learns pre-primer first, then primer.

What is the best way to practice kindergarten sight words?

Short, frequent review works best: a few minutes a day with the child saying each word aloud, hearing it, and using it in a sentence. Spaced repetition, which brings back words just before they are forgotten, makes the practice stick faster than repeated drilling.