Name: Consonants Composed of Two Phonemes: /ks/ and /kw/
Uploaded: 2026-06-09T17:32:28-04:00
Description: Consonants Composed of Two Phonemes: /ks/ and /kw/

The moving consonants are made up of two individual sounds.

Letter	Sound	Description
qu	/kw/	Produced with two sounds. The mouth starts open with the back of the tongue touching the back of the mouth; then the mouth is pursed in a circular shape. One sound slides into the other. ‘Q’ is never in a word without ‘u’ following it. ‘U’ is not considered a vowel when it is stuck to ‘q’. Tell students: “Q and u are stuck like glue!”
x	/ks/	Produced with two sounds. The mouth starts open with the back of the tongue touching the back of the mouth; then the tongue slides forward as the lips are spread wide and the teeth stay together. One sound slides into the other.

Letters ‘x’ and ‘q’ are the only two moving consonants in the English alphabet. To hear them in action, watch this quick clip from reading specialist Morgan Walton.

Video thumbnail for Consonants Composed of Two Phonemes: /ks/ and /kw/ — Produced by Reading Universe, a partnership of WETA, Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book

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Morgan Walton: Two of the consonants in the alphabet are composed of two phonemes. The 'q' makes the /kw/ sound. The 'x' makes the /ks/ sound.

4.5 How to Teach Articulation: Moving Consonants

Articulation Skill Explainer

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