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Consonant

H

The H sound is a voiceless glottal fricative. It's essentially a whispered vowel sound, made by pushing air through the open glottis (the space between the vocal cords) without vibration.

h
Phonetic System (Merriam-Webster):h

Watch the Sound

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Example Words

Main Example

hat
Phonetic: /hæt/

Common Words

hat/hæt/
hello/həˈloʊ/
house/haʊs/
behind/bɪˈhaɪnd/
perhaps/pərˈhæps/
whole/hoʊl/

Minimal Pairs

Listen and compare similar sounds

h
hat
/hæt/
Compare with
H
at
/æt/
h
heat
/hiːt/
Compare with
H
eat
/iːt/
h
hill
/hɪl/
Compare with
H
ill
/ɪl/
h
behind
/bɪˈhaɪnd/
Compare with
B
bind
/baɪnd/

Tongue Twister

Harry the happy hippo hurried home.

Try it yourself

Practice saying this tongue twister

Technical Details

  • CategoryConsonant
  • VoicingVoiceless
  • Place of ArticulationGlottal
  • Manner of ArticulationFricative
  • Mouth PositionKeep your mouth slightly open in a neutral position, as if about to speak a vowel. The sound comes from the throat, not the mouth. Push air out from your lungs through your open throat without vibrating your vocal cords. The shape of your mouth will be influenced by the vowel that follows the /h/.