The Letter H In American English

The letter "h" has two sounds.

The letter "h" sounds /h/:

1. "h" is silent when it precedes the letter "o," so "ho" sounds /ɑ/ in American English.

2. "h" is also silent in "ah:"

3. "gh" generally sounds /ɡ/, in other words, "h" is silent:

4. "gh" can be silent too:

5. "h" in "rh" sounds /r/. In other words, "h" is silent:

The letter "h" can be positioned before or after other letters, mainly consonants.

"xh" sounds /gz/:

"he" sounds /ɜː/ or /hɜː/ in American English:

"ch" commonly has three sounds:

1. "c" in combination with "h" generally represents /tʃ/:

2. It also has the /ʃ/ sound in French loanwords:

3. "c" combined with "h" also sounds /k/:

"gh" commonly has three sounds:

1. "gh" generally sounds /ɡ/:

2. "gh" after "u" also sounds /f/:

3. Followed by the combination of "ou," "gh" is silent:

"ph" sounds /f/:

"sh" sounds /ʃ/:

"th" commonly has three sounds:

1. "th" sounds /θ/:

2. "th" can also sound /ð/ if it is followed by the letter "e:"

3. "th" also sounds /t/:

"wh" commonly has two sounds:

1. "wh" sounds /w/, note that lips are rounded when pronouncing this letter.

2. "wh" also sounds /h/, which means "w" is silent:

The letter "H" can be: