Ko te whiriwhiri i te tangi e hāngai ana ki ngā tohu tuhi o te reo, pērā i ngā pū. He tūhono i te tohu ki te puakitanga oro e tika ana. Ahakoa te mōhio ki te weteoro me te pānui tika i te kupu, kāore tonu pea i te mōhio ki te tikanga o te kupu.
Working out the sounds associated with the written symbols of the language, such as the letters. The matching of a symbol with the correct enunciation of its sound. The ability to decode and read a word correctly may not necessarily mean that the word is understood.