How to Solve Anagrams Effectively
Break up the anagram., Put letters together in common pairings., Separate vowels and consonants., Pick out prefixes and suffixes.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Break up the anagram.
First, write down all of the letters in a different pattern.
You won’t be able to find a new phrase or word if you keep staring at the same one that’s already in front of you.
The letters are already in a jumbled mess, but reorganizing them into a recognizable pattern or shape will help.
Draw a shape and write the letters around it.
This makes it easier for your eye to pick up combinations since there’s no order to the letters- they’re each equally important.
The most commonly used shape is a circle.
You can spin your paper or notebook any which way to get a new perspective.
Constantly rearranging your letters is important because it gives your mind new ways to look at groupings of the same letter.
Sometimes you need a fresh viewpoint if you’ve been staring at the same thing for ages. -
Step 2: Put letters together in common pairings.
After you break up the anagram, start putting together pairs of letters.
For example, you may notice that you have an “H” and that it normally follows a consonant like “P” or “S” to make words that contain “PH” or “SH.”In addition, “H” usually is found after “P,” “S,” “T,” “W,” and “G” unless it’s at the beginning of a word.
Unusual letter pairings like “QU” or common ones like “TH” are easy to build words from.
Once you start isolating smaller pairings, you have fewer letters to unscramble. , Write out all of the consonants from your anagram in one column and the vowels in a separate one.
Start with the consonants and write out each different way that they can be ordered.
Then, insert the vowels into each combination to see how many new words you can make.If you have a lot of vowels, first find the consonant pairs since there are fewer variations to be had.
Also, if you have mostly consonants, pair the vowels that can go together.
For example, “IE,” “EA,” ot “OU.” Triple vowel combos like “beautiful” or “silhouette” are rare but taking the time to memorize them will help you solve anagrams faster. , Many words in the English language are built off of prefixes and suffixes, which are pairings of letters at the beginning or end of a word to indicate grammar.
For anagrams, they can be helpful to find because all you need to do is find the pairings and build a word from the remaining letters.Some common prefixes include: un-, dis-, sub-, re-, de-, in-, ab-, ad-, and ex-.
Suffixes you may find could be:
-ing,
-ness,
-ly,
-ed,
-er,
-ry,
-ous,
-ment, and
-tion.
Switch around pre- and suffixes to create more word options.
For example, “paint-er” can become “re-paint” by using the same letters in a new way. -
Step 3: Separate vowels and consonants.
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Step 4: Pick out prefixes and suffixes.
Detailed Guide
First, write down all of the letters in a different pattern.
You won’t be able to find a new phrase or word if you keep staring at the same one that’s already in front of you.
The letters are already in a jumbled mess, but reorganizing them into a recognizable pattern or shape will help.
Draw a shape and write the letters around it.
This makes it easier for your eye to pick up combinations since there’s no order to the letters- they’re each equally important.
The most commonly used shape is a circle.
You can spin your paper or notebook any which way to get a new perspective.
Constantly rearranging your letters is important because it gives your mind new ways to look at groupings of the same letter.
Sometimes you need a fresh viewpoint if you’ve been staring at the same thing for ages.
After you break up the anagram, start putting together pairs of letters.
For example, you may notice that you have an “H” and that it normally follows a consonant like “P” or “S” to make words that contain “PH” or “SH.”In addition, “H” usually is found after “P,” “S,” “T,” “W,” and “G” unless it’s at the beginning of a word.
Unusual letter pairings like “QU” or common ones like “TH” are easy to build words from.
Once you start isolating smaller pairings, you have fewer letters to unscramble. , Write out all of the consonants from your anagram in one column and the vowels in a separate one.
Start with the consonants and write out each different way that they can be ordered.
Then, insert the vowels into each combination to see how many new words you can make.If you have a lot of vowels, first find the consonant pairs since there are fewer variations to be had.
Also, if you have mostly consonants, pair the vowels that can go together.
For example, “IE,” “EA,” ot “OU.” Triple vowel combos like “beautiful” or “silhouette” are rare but taking the time to memorize them will help you solve anagrams faster. , Many words in the English language are built off of prefixes and suffixes, which are pairings of letters at the beginning or end of a word to indicate grammar.
For anagrams, they can be helpful to find because all you need to do is find the pairings and build a word from the remaining letters.Some common prefixes include: un-, dis-, sub-, re-, de-, in-, ab-, ad-, and ex-.
Suffixes you may find could be:
-ing,
-ness,
-ly,
-ed,
-er,
-ry,
-ous,
-ment, and
-tion.
Switch around pre- and suffixes to create more word options.
For example, “paint-er” can become “re-paint” by using the same letters in a new way.
About the Author
Megan Harris
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in lifestyle and beyond.
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