/h/

consonant · voiceless

The H Sound

as in hat

How to make the /h/ sound

Voiceless — no vocal cord vibration
voiced voiceless
  1. 1Open the mouth for the following vowel.
  2. 2Push a light breath of air — like fogging a mirror.
  3. 3Silent in "hour", "honest", "heir", and inside "exhausted", "vehicle".

⚠ The most common mistake

Dropping it ("appy") or adding it where it is silent ("h-our").

Especially tricky for speakers of: French, Italian, Portuguese.

Practice: Record & Compare

Record yourself saying hat, then compare with the target. Your audio stays on this device — nothing is uploaded.

Practice words with /h/

Tap the speaker to hear each word; tap the word for its full pronunciation page.

More consonants

See all 44 sounds of English →