5 exercises on tech words with silent letters — debt, subtle, Django, mnemonic, pseudo, queue, receipt and more.
Silent-letter quick fixes
debt → "det" (silent b) | subtle → "SUT-ul"
Django → "JANG-go" (silent D)
mnemonic → "ne-MON-ik" (silent m)
pseudo → "SOO-doh" | receipt → "re-SEET"
column / autumn → silent n; indict → "in-DITE"
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Which letter is silent in the word debt (as in "technical debt")?
Debt — /dɛt/ — "det":
The b is silent. The word rhymes exactly with "bet" and "net". Non-native speakers often pronounce the b ("deb-t") because it is written, but it has been silent in English for centuries.
Why the silent b? The b was inserted by Renaissance scholars to mirror the Latin root debitum, but English never pronounced it.
Same silent-b pattern:
doubt /daʊt/ — "dowt"
subtle /ˈsʌtl/ — "SUTT-ul"
thumb, comb, climb — final b silent after m
In tech: "technical debt" /ˈtɛknɪkl dɛt/ — "TEK-ni-kul DET". You "pay down", "incur", or "accumulate" technical debt — never say "deb-t".
2 / 5
How is subtle (as in "a subtle bug") correctly pronounced?
Subtle — /ˈsʌtl/ — "SUT-ul":
The b is silent. It rhymes with "cuttle" (as in cuttlefish) and "shuttle" minus the sh. Two syllables, stress on the first.
Common mistakes:
"SUB-tul" — wrongly voicing the b
"sub-TEEL" — confusing it with the French subtil or with "sublime"
Word family:
subtle /ˈsʌtl/ — "SUT-ul" (adjective)
subtly /ˈsʌtli/ — "SUT-lee" (adverb)
subtlety /ˈsʌtəlti/ — "SUT-ul-tee" (noun)
In context: "a subtle race condition", "the bug is subtle and hard to reproduce". The b stays silent in every form.
3 / 5
In the framework name Django, which letter is silent?
Django — /ˈdʒæŋɡoʊ/ — "JANG-go":
The initial D is silent. The framework is named after jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, and the name starts with a "J" sound, not "D". So it is "JANG-go", never "dee-JANG-go" or "DEE-jango".
Common mistakes:
"Dee-jango" — voicing the silent D
"DAN-go" — dropping the hard g
Note the structure: "JANG" (rhymes with "hang") + "go". Two syllables, stress on the first.
Other silent-D / tricky tool names:
Wednesday /ˈwɛnzdeɪ/ — "WENZ-day" (silent d, used in cron-style scheduling chat)
handsome, sandwich — d often reduced
The official Django docs confirm the "J" pronunciation.
4 / 5
Which letter is silent in mnemonic (as in a mnemonic variable name)?
Mnemonic — /nɪˈmɒnɪk/ — "ne-MON-ik":
The initial m is silent — the word starts with an "n" sound. Three syllables, stress on the second: ne · MON · ik.
Why silent m? From Greek mnēmonikos (memory). English drops the m before n at the start of a word — the same happens in "mnemonics".
Common mistakes:
"muh-NEM-on-ik" — voicing the leading m
"MEM-onic" — confusing it with "memory"
Same silent-first-letter Greek pattern:
pseudo /ˈsuːdoʊ/ — "SOO-doh" (silent p)
psychology — "sy-KOL-o-jee" (silent p)
In tech: "a mnemonic for the opcode", "BIP-39 mnemonic phrase" (crypto seed phrases).
5 / 5
Several common tech words have silent letters. Which set is pronounced correctly?
Silent letters in five tech-adjacent words:
pseudo /ˈsuːdoʊ/ — "SOO-doh" — silent p. As in sudo-adjacent "pseudo-code", "pseudo-random". (Note: the Unix sudo command is "SOO-doo".)
queue /kjuː/ — "kyoo" — only the first two letters sound; the ueue is silent. "message queue", "job queue".