American English Sounds
  • Home
  • Vowels
    • VOWEL CHART
    • Front >
      • /iy/ (see, keep)
      • /ɪ/ (sit, pick)
      • /ey/ (take, name)
      • /ɛ/ (pet, tell)
      • /æ/ (sat, past)
    • Central >
      • /ɜr/ (church, nurse)
      • /ər/ (mother, surprise)
      • /ʌ/ (cup, must)
      • /ə/ (about, undo)
      • /ɑ/ (stop, job)
    • Back >
      • /ʊ/ (good, put)
      • /uw/ (food, soon)
      • /ɔ/ (bought, lost)
      • /ow/ (low, coat)
    • Diphthongs >
      • /ɑɪ/ (light, pie)
      • /ɑʊ/ (cow, loud)
      • /ɔɪ/ (boy, voice)
  • Consonants
    • CONSONANT CHART
    • Lips (Bilabial) >
      • /p/ (peace, price)
      • /b/ (buy, brain)
      • /m/ (map, time)
      • /w/ (wait, win)
    • Lips-Teeth (Labio-dental) >
      • /f/ (fix, friend)
      • /v/ (vase, love)
    • Tongue-Teeth (Dental) >
      • /θ/ (thank, bath)
      • /ð/ (this, breathe)
    • Tongue-Gum Ridge (Alveolar) >
      • /t/ (take, stand)
      • /d/ (day, drive)
      • /s/ (sit, race)
      • /z/ (zoo, these)
      • /l/ (less, sleep)
      • /r/ (rose, borrow)
      • /n/ (nice, man)
    • Tongue-Palate (Palatal) >
      • /ʃ/ (push, show)
      • /ʒ/ (measure, vision)
      • /tʃ/ (choose, match)
      • /dʒ/ (juice, edge)
      • /y/ (yes, young)
    • Tongue-Soft Palate (Velar) >
      • /k/ (kiss, cat)
      • /g/ (gas, green)
      • /ŋ/ (hang, long)
    • Throat (Glottal) >
      • /h/ (help, hand)
  • Resources
    • Pronunciation Vocabulary
    • For Students
    • For Instructors

/h/

LISTEN

listen_to_-h-.mp3
File Size: 180 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/h/.../h/.../h/.../h/...

help...hand...ahead...reheat


WHAT IS IT?

Pronunciation:
The sound /h/ is a voiceless, glottal, fricative consonant:
  • ​Your tongue doesn't need to touch any part of your mouth
  • Breathe out sharply. A short burst of air should come out of your mouth, leading into the next sound.
  • Your vocal cords should not vibrate.

Spelling:
  • /h/ - help, ahead
  • /wh/ - who, whole

Note: The letter "h" is the most common spelling of /h/. However, the letter "h" can also be silent (as in "hour") or can combine with another letter to indicate another sound. (For example, "sh"  = /ʃ/, "th" = /θ/ or /ð/)
​
​
Grammar Tip: 
The sound /h/ is in several English pronouns:
grammar_-h-_1.mp3
File Size: 154 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

  • he, him, her
  • his, hers
  • himself, herself.

In informal American English speech, it is common to drop the /h/ from these pronouns. Listen to the difference:
grammar_-h-_2.mp3
File Size: 245 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. Formal: I met her. 
2. Formal. Where did he go? 
3. Formal: He forgot his bag.
Informal: I met 'er.
​
Informal: Where did 'e go?
​Informal: 'E forgot 'is bag.

COMPARE

Compare /h/ with /k/:
compare_h-k_1.mp3
File Size: 104 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/h/.../k/.../h/.../k/.../h/.../k/...

These are both voiceless consonants pronounced in the back of the mouth.  However, /h/ is a glottal fricative and /k/ is a velar stop . The sound /k/ is pronounced with the back of your tongue, while /h/ is pronounced with the glottis, which is behind your tongue.

You can hear the difference between /h/ and /k/ in these words.
compare_h-k_words.mp3
File Size: 345 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. ​A. height, B. kite
2. A. hill, B. kill
3. A. hand, B. canned
4. A. how, B. cow
​5. A. heap, B. keep
​6. A. hole, B. coal 

Practice recognizing words with /h/ and /k/ by taking the quiz below.


Now, compare /h/ and
/w/:
compare_h-w_1.mp3
File Size: 93 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

/h/.../w/.../h/.../w/.../h/.../w/...

These are both consonants without friction - no part of your tongue should touch a part of your mouth. However, /h/ is a voiceless glottal fricative and /w/ is a voiced labio-velar approximant. When you pronounce /h/, your lips should be in a neutral, unrounded position, but when you start to pronounce /w/, your lips should be round.

You can hear the difference between /h/ and /w/ in these words.
compare_h-w_words.mp3
File Size: 381 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. A. high, B. why
2. A. hot, B. watt
3. A. who, B. woo
​4. A. hitch, B. which
5. A. hair, B. wear
6. A. hurry, B. worry

Practice recognizing words with /h/ and /w/ by taking the quiz below.


PRACTICE

Listen and repeat these words:
words_with_-h-.mp3
File Size: 648 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. height
2. hall
3. home
4. help
5. heater
6. hurry
7. history
8. whole
9. who
10.  humor
11. hurry
12. perhaps
13. behavior
14. ahead
15. beh​ind
16. re
heat
17. ab
hor
18. unhelpful
19. uphill
20. homogenous

. 
Now, practice /h/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.
sentences_with_-h-.mp3
File Size: 1137 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1. hear - him - help
Did you hear him ask for help?

2. have - hurry - h​ome
We have to hurry home.

3. house - behind - hill
My house is just behind that hill.

4. he - hurt - himself - hockey
He hurt himself by playing hockey.

5. hope - happy - how
I hope you're happy with how your English is improving.

6. perhaps - husband - her
​Perhaps her husband is with her.

To practice with different varieties of English, choose another native English speaker by clicking one of the links below:
  • Male 1 (US Midwest - St Louis) - words, sentences
  • Male 2 (US Midwest - Iowa) - words, sentences
  • Male 3 (US Midwest) - words, sentences
  • Female 1 (US Northeast) - words, sentences
  • Female 2 (US Southeast) - words, sentences

USE IT!

​​Practice the task below. Then, record yourself completing that task. Give your recording to a teacher or an English-speaking friend for feedback.

Prepare:
If you see a homeless man on the street, and he asks for help, what will you do?
  • Hide your wallet
  • Help him find housing
  • Hand him money
  • Ask him how he became homeless
  • Hear his story
  • Call for help
  • Have lunch with him

Record:
In your recording, explain how you think people should respond to a homeless person, and why.

©2018-2021, Christine Wingate
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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  • Home
  • Vowels
    • VOWEL CHART
    • Front >
      • /iy/ (see, keep)
      • /ɪ/ (sit, pick)
      • /ey/ (take, name)
      • /ɛ/ (pet, tell)
      • /æ/ (sat, past)
    • Central >
      • /ɜr/ (church, nurse)
      • /ər/ (mother, surprise)
      • /ʌ/ (cup, must)
      • /ə/ (about, undo)
      • /ɑ/ (stop, job)
    • Back >
      • /ʊ/ (good, put)
      • /uw/ (food, soon)
      • /ɔ/ (bought, lost)
      • /ow/ (low, coat)
    • Diphthongs >
      • /ɑɪ/ (light, pie)
      • /ɑʊ/ (cow, loud)
      • /ɔɪ/ (boy, voice)
  • Consonants
    • CONSONANT CHART
    • Lips (Bilabial) >
      • /p/ (peace, price)
      • /b/ (buy, brain)
      • /m/ (map, time)
      • /w/ (wait, win)
    • Lips-Teeth (Labio-dental) >
      • /f/ (fix, friend)
      • /v/ (vase, love)
    • Tongue-Teeth (Dental) >
      • /θ/ (thank, bath)
      • /ð/ (this, breathe)
    • Tongue-Gum Ridge (Alveolar) >
      • /t/ (take, stand)
      • /d/ (day, drive)
      • /s/ (sit, race)
      • /z/ (zoo, these)
      • /l/ (less, sleep)
      • /r/ (rose, borrow)
      • /n/ (nice, man)
    • Tongue-Palate (Palatal) >
      • /ʃ/ (push, show)
      • /ʒ/ (measure, vision)
      • /tʃ/ (choose, match)
      • /dʒ/ (juice, edge)
      • /y/ (yes, young)
    • Tongue-Soft Palate (Velar) >
      • /k/ (kiss, cat)
      • /g/ (gas, green)
      • /ŋ/ (hang, long)
    • Throat (Glottal) >
      • /h/ (help, hand)
  • Resources
    • Pronunciation Vocabulary
    • For Students
    • For Instructors