Spelling list: Words ending in -dge

One way of spelling word with a long vowel sound is with a split digraph, for example a-e (like in cage).

However, in these -dge words, the addition of the letter d turns the long vowel sound at the start of the word into a short vowel sound. The letter d stops the vowel at the start of the word from saying its name. For example, the first syllable of badge is pronounced bad not bade and the first syllable of sledge is pronounced sled not sleed.

At the end of these words, the letter combination -dge creates a soft /j/ sound. Click on the speaker icons to hear the short vowel soundand soft /j/ sound in each word.

badge	She pinned her badge to her cardigan.
cadge	How did you manage to cadge a lift in a taxi?
edge	There is a sheer drop at the cliff edge.
dredge	They started to dredge the river. *
hedge	This garden hedge grows very fast.
ledge	The ledge was high up. *
sledge	My children love to sledge in the snow.
wedge	She cut a wedge of lemon for her drink.
ridge	You can see for miles from the mountain ridge.
dodge	He had to dodge the ball quickly.
lodge	The climbers found shelter in a lodge.
budge	The door was stuck and wouldn't budge.
fudge	The boy ordered a chocolate fudge sundae. *
grudge	She tried not to hold a grudge.
judge	The judge sent him to jail for a year.
nudge	Mum tried to nudge her towards the right answer.
smudge	My printer is leaving a black smudge on each page.
trudge	The tired walkers will trudge the last mile home.
cartridge	The soldier had one cartridge left in his rifle.