# Nonsense! > Nonsense word generator for reading decoding skill development. (iPhone/iPad app by Brian Wilkinson.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nonsense/id938907017 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Brian Wilkinson](https://appshunter.io/developer/938907016) - Category: Education - Price: $2.99 - Rating: 3.30/5 from 4 App Store ratings · 5 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 13.0 · 4 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2015-02-11 - Data updated: 2026-06-10 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nonsense/id938907017/reviews.md ## What is Nonsense!? **Nonsense!** is a nonsense word generator that takes much of the decoding pressure off while putting the FUN into reading. It was made by real-life educators with the goal of making a difference, to help the one in five students (!) who struggle to read. The ability to sound out nonsense words is the ultimate measure of one’s decoding skills, ensuring that users are not tempted to guess at “regular” words. **Nonsense!** is designed to help dyslexics, struggling readers, ESL/ESOL students, and those who struggle with articulation. This app is NOT meant for students to use alone. It is recommended for use by learning & reading specialists, speech and language therapists (SLTs), ESL/ESOL teachers, classroom teachers and parents to support students. Learners enter the mad scientist’s laboratory where they control the mighty generator’s on/off switch to create their own nonsense words. The combinations are almost limitless, and the ease of decoding is increased by using Open Dylexic, a font specifically designed to increase readability for learners with dyslexia. The user can climb the nine levels of Nonsense as their phonemic skills increase (and THEY WILL!). Check out this **Nonsense!**: Level One/CVC: “duz” Level Two/CCVC: “phun” Level Three/CCVCC: “thuzz” Level Four/CCCVC: “shrad” Level Five/CC or CCC + VCC: “sploft” Level Six/VC+e: “ake” Level Seven/CVC+e: “mipe” Level Eight/CCCVC+e: “strome” Level Nine/CC or CCC +VC+es: “thrupes” Decoding nonsense words requires the reader to rely SOLELY on his/her ability to attach sound to the 40+ phonemes and to successfully blend them. GONE is the temptation for students to GUESS at familiar words as each generated nonsense word is not in their familiar lexicon. This app has a story, as most good things do! It was designed by an Orton-Gillingham certified instructor and teacher (M.Ed) in conjunction with her technology savvy spouse, who holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology from Johns Hopkins University. It was developed in response to a question he asked in passing about a year ago: “Can you think of a program I could design that would help your students become better readers?” He simply wanted a fun programming project, but it turned into a year-long labor of love and collaboration with a lot of tuning and tweaking along the way. Nonsense! makes a difference. It creates a safe learning environment because nonsense words are inherently silly! It’s difficult not to laugh when reading some of them. Still, the only way to decipher nonsense is to DECODE and this app entices students to actually WANT to do so. ## Key features - Nonsense word generation - Supports decoding skills - Aids struggling readers - Designed for dyslexia support - Nine progressive levels - Open Dyslexic font option ## Recent user reviews (5 of 5) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nonsense/id938907017/reviews.md ### 4/5 — Great for beginning concepts *2024-01-10* This is a great app for beginning concepts up to cvce and es suffix. Would love to see it have a button to read the word to the student so that they can check their own work and go beyond these simpler concepts. (Think of adding multisyllabic words, vowel teams, r controlled vowels, other suffixes, glued sounds, trigraphs, more complex sounds like "tion" and "ight" etc) ### 5/5 — Excellent *2020-06-17* Fantastic simple game to practice decoding. Needs to be played with an adult to ensure accuracy. Great additional tool for reading remediation! ### 4/5 — For teachers and tutors *2019-11-11* I’ve used this with reading classes and individual students. It is not useful for a student to use on his own as there is no way to check, but it is useful for a teacher-led situation. There is a major error in that it includes “y” as a consonant in the levels CVCC, etc. I only use those levels for students who have learned to syllabicate, or I skip the pseudo words when I see the y come up. It would be most helpful, and I would recommend it to more teachers if you could correct that error and also include a level with multi letter vowels (ee, ea, ai, ay, etc.). Thanks! ### 1/5 — Don't buy this app is a rip off *2018-01-19* As an educator this is a rip off, does not help child at all. No sound to assist child. ### 4/5 — Great start but needs more *2015-04-11* I have been looking for this app for a while and even considered making it myself. Decoding nonsense words is an essential skill and one my young special needs students struggle with. I like the random word generator and the different levels. For the price, I would like a few more features, such as choice of font, ability to turn off the unpleasant clunking sounds, and most importantly, spoken words so that kids could check their answer. Perhaps some kind of tracking of kids' progress would be very helpful too. I can use it for now though since there is no other app like this available. ## Frequently asked questions about Nonsense! ### What is Nonsense! used for? Nonsense! is a tool designed to help users improve their reading decoding skills by generating nonsense words. This method encourages reliance on phonemic awareness rather than guessing familiar words. ### Who developed Nonsense!? Nonsense! was created by an Orton-Gillingham certified instructor with an M.Ed. and her spouse, who holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology from Johns Hopkins University. ### What is the price of Nonsense!? Nonsense! is available for a one-time purchase of $2.99. ### Does Nonsense! have ads? No, Nonsense! does not contain advertisements. It is a paid application designed without ads to provide an uninterrupted learning experience. ### What devices does Nonsense! support? Nonsense! is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices. ### How often is Nonsense! updated? The latest version of Nonsense! is 1.9, and it was last updated on April 16, 2020. Users can expect updates to maintain functionality and potentially add new features. ### What is the age rating for Nonsense!? Nonsense! has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for young learners and above. ### Can learners use Nonsense! independently? No, Nonsense! is not intended for independent use by learners. It is recommended for use by educators, therapists, and parents to actively support students. ## Version history (last 3 releases) ### 1.9 — 2020-04-16 Updated for use with iOS version 13.0 ### 1.8 — 2019-03-25 Nonsense! is now optimized for both iPads and iPhones. Updated to use the latest version of Swift for better performance. ### 1.5 — 2015-02-10 No release notes. ## More apps by Brian Wilkinson - [Essay Launcher](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/essay-launcher/id1370047826) All apps by Brian Wilkinson: https://appshunter.io/developer/938907016 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*