Letter H Sounds and Words
H is the eighth letter! H makes a huh sound, like a soft breath out. Put your hand in front of your mouth and say HAT — you feel air on your palm. HAT. HEN. HOUSE. HAPPY. H is a consonant and makes a quiet breathy sound.
The Core Idea
Uppercase H looks like two tall lines joined by a middle bar — like a ladder with one rung. Lowercase h looks like a tall line with a hump on the right. Both say huh. H often partners with other letters to make digraphs: CH, SH, TH, WH, PH — each makes new sounds.
Words That Start with H
Hat: covers your head. Hen: a female chicken. House: where people live. Horse: a big animal to ride. Happy: feeling good. Heart: pumps blood in your body. Hand: part of your arm. Hop: to jump on one foot. Every one starts with the huh sound.
Which word starts with H?
Going Deeper
H is often silent in some words! In HOUR and HONEST, the H is there but we do not say it out loud. Those words sound like our and on-est. Silent letters can be confusing, but they are everywhere in English. H is one of the sneaky ones.
H Sound Detective
Hop and Count
Is H a vowel or a consonant?
When H joins S, what digraph do they make?
Want to keep learning?
Sign up for free to access the full curriculum — all subjects, all ages.
Start Learning Free