3rd Grade spelling
3rd Grade Words With the Prefix Un
Spelling words that start with the prefix un, meaning not, like unhappy, unfair, unsafe and unlucky. Play hangman or print a worksheet with an answer key.
Read the spelling list
The pattern: Un means not: unhappy is not happy. Every word here is un plus a real base word.
A prefix is a word part added to the front of a base word to change its meaning. Un means not: unhappy is not happy, unfair is not fair, unsafe is not safe. The base word keeps its spelling, so there is no letter to drop or double. That makes un one of the easiest prefixes to teach and one of the first that students can use to work out new words on their own.
Every word here is un plus a real base word, which we checked in code, and the pronunciation has to begin with the /un/ sound. That excludes words like uncle and under, where the letters un are not a prefix. You will find unlikely, uncertain, unclear, unaware, unpleasant, unstable and unwilling, as well as short ones like unsure, unreal and unseen. Some end in ed because the base word was a past tense verb: unpaid, unused, unfinished and unchanged. At third grade, students are ready to read and spell these as two parts, not as single long words.
30 entries. Our solver needed 1.9 wrong guesses on average: 11 easy, 19 medium and 0 hard. The toughest is unable (4 misses), the quickest uncertain (0).
- unable Medium · 4
- unlike Medium · 4
- unknown Medium · 3
- unlikely Medium · 2
- unfair Easy · 1
- unhappy Medium · 4
- uncertain Easy · 0
- unclear Medium · 2
- unemployed Easy · 0
- unlock Medium · 2
- unaware Easy · 0
- uncommon Medium · 3
- unstable Medium · 2
- unpleasant Easy · 0
- unwanted Easy · 1
- unlocked Medium · 3
- unsure Medium · 2
- unchanged Medium · 2
- uncovered Easy · 1
- unpaid Medium · 2
- unfinished Easy · 1
- unhealthy Medium · 2
- unwilling Easy · 1
- unsafe Medium · 3
- unused Medium · 4
- unlucky Medium · 4
- unrest Medium · 2
- unseen Easy · 0
- unreal Easy · 1
- unnamed Medium · 2
Words worth a closer look
- unnamedUn plus named gives a double n. The spelling follows the pieces exactly, so it is an easy word to teach once students see the parts.
- unlikelyTwo suffix-like parts: un at the front and ly at the end. Cover each and read the middle word like.
- unrestUn plus rest, but the meaning is trouble or disorder rather than not resting. A reminder that meanings can drift.
- unemployedUn, employ, ed. Three parts in one word, and a good model for how long words are built.
- unluckyThe base is lucky, which already ends in y, so no letters change.
Teaching it
Teach students to cover the un and read the base word first. If they can spell happy, they can spell unhappy. The typical mistake is spelling unnamed with one n, or adding a second n to unable. Show both and explain that the double n in unnamed comes from the base word starting with n, not from the prefix.
Un also appears in verbs where it means to reverse an action, as in untie or unpack, but the meaning on this list is mostly not. A useful activity: students write the base word and un word on opposite sides of a card and use each in a sentence. In hangman, give the base word as a clue and let players work out the full word.
Print a 3rd Grade Words With the Prefix Un worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
- 3rd Grade Words With the Prefix ReSpelling words that start with the prefix re, usually meaning again, like rebuild, restart, replace and remove. Play hangman or print a worksheet.
- 3rd Grade Words With the Prefix DisSpelling words starting with the prefix dis, meaning not or the opposite of, like disagree, dislike, disappear and discount. Play hangman or print a list.
- 3rd Grade Words Ending in Ful and LessSpelling words ending in ful and less, like helpful, hopeful, careless and homeless. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Words Ending in LySpelling words ending in ly, like quickly, slowly, finally and friendly. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Words Ending in NessSpelling words ending in ness, like kindness, sadness, darkness and happiness. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Double Consonant WordsSpelling words with a doubled consonant in the middle, like rabbit, happy, little and funny. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet.