The Letter H

In American English

In this lesson, we will learn about all the sounds of the letter H. It is the eighth letter of the English alphabet. Let's begin.

H is the eighth letter in the English alphabet. It is also a consonant.

Consonants are sounds that are pronounced with restriction in the vocal tract.

Uppercase Form	H
Lowercase	h
Name	aitch (pronounced /ˈeɪtʃ/)
Common Sound(s)	/h/, /∅/

Pie Chart of 'h' Pronunciation in American English

The Letter H: Sounds

The letter 'h' has two sounds.

Sound 1: /h/

The letter 'h' sounds /h/:

hen /hen/

helicopter /ˈhelɪkɑːptər/

horse /hɔːrs/

Sound 2: /∅/

1. 'h' sounds /∅/ when it precedes the letter 'o', so 'ho' sounds /ˈɑ/ in American English, in other words, 'h' is silent ∅:

honest /ˈɑːnɪst/

honor /ˈɒnər/

heirloom /ˈɛəɹ.lum/

2. 'h' is also silent /∅/ in 'ah':

ah /ɑː/

dahlia /ˈdæɫjə/

cheetah /ˈtʃiːtə/

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

ghost /ɡoʊst/

yoghurt /ˈjoʊ.ɡɚt/

dinghy /ˈdɪŋɡi/

This word is also pronounced /ˈdɪŋi/.

4. 'gh' also sounds Ø (no sound, silent) as in:

through /θruː/

neighbor /ˈneɪbər/

night /naɪt/

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

rhino /ˈɹaɪ.noʊ/

rhyme /raɪm/

rhubarb /ˈruːbɑːrb/

The Letter H: Multigraphs

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

xh

'xh' sounds /gz/:

exhort /ɪɡˈzɔːrt/

exhibit /ɪɡˈzɪbɪt/

exhaustive /ɪɡˈzɔːstɪv/

he

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

herb /ɜːrb/ /hɜːrb/

herbal /ˈɜːrbl/ /ˈhɜːrbl/

Tip!

'hi' in the word vehicle sounds /hɪ/ or /ə/:

vehicle /ˈviːəkl/, /ˈviːhɪkl/

ch

'ch' commonly has three sounds:

/tʃ/
/ʃ/
/k/

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

charity /ˈtʃærəti/

chicken /ˈtʃɪkɪn/

child /tʃaɪld/

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

moustache /ˈmʌstæʃ/

chevron /ˈʃevrən/

chef /ʃef/

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

choreography /ˌkɔːriˈɑːɡrəfi/

choir /ˈkwaɪər/

echo /ˈɛkoʊ/

gh

'gh' commonly has three sounds:

/ɡ/
/f/
/Ø/

1. 'gh' generally sounds /ɡ/:

ghost /ɡoʊst/

yoghurt /ˈjoʊɡərt/

dinghy /ˈdɪŋɡi/

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

cough /kɔːf/

enough /ɪˈnʌf/

roughage /ˈrʌfɪdʒ/

3. 'gh' also sound silent /Ø/ when they follow 'ou':

drought /draʊt/

doughnut /ˈdoʊˌnʌt/

thought /θɔːt/

ph

'ph' sounds /f/:

phone /foʊ̯n/

dolphin /ˈdɑːlfɪn/

graph /ɡræf/

sh

'sh' sounds /ʃ/:

ship /ʃɪp/

shark /ʃɑɹk/

fish /fɪʃ/

th

'th' commonly has three sounds:

/θ/
/ð/
/t/

1. 'th' sounds /θ/:

mouth /maʊθ/

teeth /tiːθ/

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

smoothie /ˈsmuːði/

they /ðeɪ/

then /ðen/

3. 'th' also sounds /t/:

thyme /taɪm/

Thomas /ˈtɑːməs/

Thames /ˈtemz/

wh

'wh' commonly has two sounds:

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

wheel /wiːl/

whisker /ˈwɪskər/

white /waɪt/

2. 'wh' also sounds /h/, that means 'w' is silent:

who /huː/

whom /huːm/

whole /hoʊl/

The Letter H: Uses

The letter 'h' can be:
• The abbreviation of hydrogen
• The abbreviation of an hour (in prescriptions)
• The abbreviation of hours, like 70 h

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- Sound 1: /h/
- Sound 2: /∅/
- xh
- he
- ch
- gh
- ph
- sh
- th
- wh
The Letter H: Uses

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