The Letter H

In British 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/)
Main Sound	/h/

The Letter H: Sounds

Main Sound

The letter 'h' has two sounds.

Sound 1: /h/

The letter 'h' sounds /h/:

hen /hen/

helicopter /ˈhelɪkɒptə(r)/

horse /hɔːs/

Sound 2: /∅/

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

honest /ˈɑːnɪst/

honor /ˈɒnə(r)/

heirloom /ˈeəluːm/

2. 'h' is also silent /∅/ in 'ah':

ah /ɑː/

dahlia /ˈdɑːlɪə/

cheetah /ˈtʃiːtə/

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

ghost /ɡəʊst/

yoghurt /ˈjɒɡət/

dinghy /ˈdɪŋɡi/

This word is also pronounced /ˈdɪŋi/.

4. 'gh' is also silent as in:

through /θruː/

neighbor /ˈneɪbə(r)/

night /naɪt/

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

rhino /ˈraɪnəʊ/

rhyme /raɪm/

rhubarb /ˈruːbɑːb/

The Letter H: Multigraphs

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

xh

'xh' sounds /gz/:

exhort /ɪɡˈzɔːt/

exhibit /ɪɡˈzɪbɪt/

exhaustive /ɪɡˈzɔːstɪv/

Tip!

'hi' in the word 'vehicle' sounds /iːə/:

vehicle /ˈviːəkl/

ch

'ch' commonly has three sounds:

/tʃ/
/ʃ/
/k/

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

torch /tɔːtʃ/

church /tʃɜːtʃ/

chicken /ˈtʃɪkɪn/

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

machine /məˈʃiːn/

chicane /ʃɪˈkeɪn/

moustache /ˈmʌstæʃ/

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

choreography /ˌkɒriˈɒɡrəfi/

choir /ˈkwaɪə(r)/

choli /'kɔːli/

ph

'ph' sounds /f/:

phone /fəʊn/

dolphin /ˈdɒlfɪn/

graph /ɡrɑːf/

sh

'sh' sounds /ʃ/:

ship /ʃɪp/

shark /ʃɑːk/

fish /fɪʃ/

th

'th' commonly has three sounds:

/θ/
/ð/
/t/

1. 'th' sounds /θ/:

mouth /maʊθ/

teeth /tiːθ/

thorn /θɔːn/

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

smoothie /ˈsmuːði/

then /ðen/

brother /ˈbrʌðə(r)/

3. 'th' also sounds /t/:

thyme /taɪm/

Thomas /ˈtɒməs/

Thames /ˈtemz/

wh

'wh' commonly has two sounds:

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

wheel /wiːl/

whisker /ˈwɪskə(r)/

white /waɪt/

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

who /huː/

whole /həʊl/

whom /huːm/

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/:

laugh /lɑːf/

cough /kɔːf/

roughage /ˈrʌfɪdʒ/

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

drought /draʊt/

doughnut /ˈdəʊnʌt/

thought /θɔːt/

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
- ch
- ph
- sh
- th
- wh
- gh
The Letter H: Uses

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