The pronunciation of the letter h: How and When to Use in English
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The pronunciation of the letter h
The letter h can be pronounced in different ways.
- The most common: similar to a light breath or a soft whisper .
Hotel
Happy
Hot
- More rarely: the letter h is silent. This is generally the case when it follows certain consonants, such as in wh, gh, rh and xh.
Hour
Honest
When
Ghost
Exhausting
Note: in words with wh + o, the h is pronounced (and the w is silent).
Who
Whose
Listen to each word, then drag and drop the missing letter.
Listen to each word, then drag and drop the missing letter.
You heard hot , starting with an h-, which generally sounds like a soft whisper . Examples: hear ; horizon ; heaven . Note: when something is hot, it has a high temperature.
Here you heard rhino , which has a silent h in it. This is the case for most words that contain the letter combination rh such as rhythm and rhyme . Rhino is short for rhinoceros. Example: rhinos are almost extinct.
In this clip you heard whose . The letter h is generally silent in the letter combination wh + vowel, with the exception of wh + o, as in whole , who and whom . Use the word whose in a question to ask which person owns something. Example: whose is this book?
Which word do you hear? Listen to each clip and select the correct option.
Which word do you hear? Listen to each clip and select the correct option.
ham 1
host 2
honour 3
You heard ham . The h‑ at the start of this word is similar to a soft breath , which is the most common way to say this letter in English. Examples: hit ; hoover ; hide . Note: a ham is a piece of meat that we obtain from the top part of a pig's leg.
Jam starts with the letter j-, which is pronounced as , not as the whispered h . Other words that start with the letter j‑ are juice and Jane .
Here you heard host , starting with the whispered h sound . Examples: hint , habit and hair . Note: a host is a person who receives people as guests.
Here you heard host , not ghost . Ghost starts with gh-, in which you hear the letter g followed by a silent h, just like in yoghurt and ghetto .
The word honour that you heard in this clip starts with a silent h. This is a rare case in English, together with a few other words like hour , heir and honest . To honour means to regard with respect or to treat with respect. Example: they honored their parents.
Here you heard honour , not one hour . However, it is true that the letter h is silent in both honour and hour.
Which word do you hear?
Which word do you hear?
In this clip you heard hair, not fair . Fair means, for example, impartial and even.
You heard the word hair . The h‑ at the beginning of hair has a whispered sound: . This is the most common way to pronounce the letter h in English and you can hear it in other words like human or hand . Your hair is what grows on your head. Example: I like long, curly hair.
You heard hair with an h- at the beginning, and not air , starting with an a‑ . The air is the invisible substance that we breathe.
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