English Pronunciation, Lesson 23 - H Sound (2024)

EnglishPronunciation, Lesson 23

The H sound(IPAsymbol: h) can be found inEnglish words suchas he,her,hello,here,behind,and who.It is an unvoicedconsonant sound. What does that mean? Read on for anexplanation.

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How to pronounce the H sound

H is a consonant sound. Aconsonant is any letter in the alphabet that is not a vowel (vowels =a, e, i, o, u).

The H soundis a voiceless orunvoiced sound.This means that your vocal chords do not vibrate when you make thissound. Instead, you use a puff of air to produce the sound. The H sound is the samein Britishand American English.Here are someother voicelessconsonant sounds in English:

• p sound (Lesson18)
• f sound (Lesson20)
• tsound (top)
• ksound (kitten)
• ssound (Sunday)
• tʃsound(China)
• θsound (south)
• ʃsound(Russia)

We will learn about all ofthese sounds in later pronunciationlessons.

The H soundmakes little sound. It is a very quiet sound. It is made by passing airthrough your mouth. Acommon error of English students is to overproduce this sound.

Tomake the sound, lightly constrict your throat and breath out throughyour mouth. When done correctly, your vocal chords will not vibrate.The shape of your lips will depend on the spelling of the word.

Spellings

The H soundis usually spelled with only the letter H:how, behind, he.

Sometimes, the H sound isspelled with the letters WH:who, whom, whole.

In English, the H soundwill never be at the very end of a word. The H sound only appearsat the beginningof syllables.

Let's practice

Remember,this is an unvoiced sound.Your vocal chords should not vibrate when you make this sound.

Tryholding a piece of paper in front of your mouth when you practice thesewords. Your breath should lightly move the paper when you make the H sound.

H sound at the beginningof a word:

1) he

2) how

3) her

4) home

5) help

6) here

7) hear8) holiday

9) happy

10) hand11) hug

12) hurry

13) his

14) heavy

15) hello16) handsome

17) whose

18) whole

19) whom20) who

H sound in the middle of a word:

2) Ohio

3) doghouse

4) birdhouse

5) downhill

6) reheat

7) beehive8) behave

9) inhale

10) uphill

Now say these sentences out loud (the H sounds are bold):

1) How are you?

2) He is here.

3) Who has red hair?

4) Hurry uphill to thehouse.

5) He is a happy, handsome man.

7) Reheat the whole hamburger, so it is hot for her.

8) Whose home is high on the hill?

9) Here is herdoghouse. It is heavy.

10) Help! Can you hear him?

Your teacher is happy!You have completed this lesson!

Remember, the Hsound is a voicelesssound. Continue to practice this sound to make sure youare doing it correctly.

Let's move on...

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