Dyslexia and Decoding: Why We Teach Using Nonsense Words

Nonsense words are made-up words (things like “za,” “din,” “rejune,” and “byrcal”) and they’re one of the most effective tools we use to build decoding skill in dyslexic learners. Non-impaired readers can sound out nonsense words easily, because doing so relies purely on phonological decoding ability, not memorization.

Why nonsense words matter

According to Dr. Sally Shaywitz, “the best ability to read nonsense words is the best measure of phonological decoding skill in children. The reader literally has to penetrate the sound structure of the word and sound it out, phoneme by phoneme; there is no other way” (Overcoming Dyslexia, 2003, pp. 133-134).

Because nonsense words have never been seen or memorized before, a learner can’t hide behind guessing. They either have the decoding skills to sound the word out, or they don’t, which makes nonsense words just as useful for identifying dyslexia as they are for treating it.

How we use them in teaching

Nonsense words eliminate guessing entirely. If a student can’t guess a word, they’re forced to rely on their decoding skills, sounding it out left to right the way a fluent reader does automatically. That repetition is what retrains a dyslexic learner’s brain and gets their phonological decoding back on track.

Our program builds fluent, automatic decoding through seven types of nonsense word patterns:

1. CV/VC: ze, ba, da, ux
2. CVC: zip, piz, pux, bax
3. CVCV: zune, pupe, dode, bode
4. CVCC: zemp, bilt, rult, vish
5. CCVC: zlit, plon, druf, clep
6. CVVC (group 1): zeen, beaz, heek, toam
7. CVVC (group 2): zaut, beup, foud, gooz

Students learn to automatically decode these letter patterns through both visual-match and auditory-visual-match decoding lessons. The point isn’t the nonsense words themselves: it’s that real, multisyllabic words like “homogenous,” “surreptitious,” and “automaticity” are built out of exactly these same pseudo-syllable patterns. Once a learner can decode the pattern automatically, they can decode the real word it’s hiding inside. And when decoding becomes automatic, comprehension follows.

Curious how structured decoding practice could help your learner? Take our free 10-minute screener to find out where they stand.