Why 'Knight' Doesn't Sound Like It's Spelled

German readers can usually trust that what's written is what's said. English broke that promise centuries ago and never apologized. 'Knight' looks like it should have a K and a sharp G sound, but it's simply pronounced 'nite.' 'Though' hides a silent GH. 'Comb' drops the B entirely. These aren't rare exceptions — they're everywhere, and if you're reading-first with your vocabulary, it's easy to accidentally pronounce letters that vanished long ago. Here's a quick exercise: take five words you've read more than spoken — knight, though, comb, half, and calm — and look up their actual pronunciation. Say each one aloud twice, once fully spelled out, once the real way, and feel the difference. You're not doing anything wrong by trusting the spelling; English just isn't as consistent as German. The more silent-letter words you notice and collect, the less surprising they'll feel, and the more natural your spoken English will sound.