H Pronunciation in French

Is it Les ‘aricots or LeZharicots?

It’s hardly the most important thing to learn when you’re more bothered about trying to get the word out of your mouth anyway . . .BUT

If you keep learning you’re going to get to this point and it’s going to feel like you saw this video and parked it . . . only to recall it when it really matters. 

So pay attention and enjoy the ride - pick up just what you want to and remember the pronunciation of the words you’d like to learn. 

Because that’s the way to learn - enjoy! 

In this mini-lesson, you will discover:

• When to pronounce the letter H at the start of French words   

• When NOT to pronounce the letter H at the start of French words  

• A practice session for you  

What are the ways to pronounce H in French?

Did you know that there are 2 kinds of H in French?

Indeed, there is the H that you will pronounce and the other one that you will ignore because it is silent.

What does it mean and what does it imply? I will explain it in this mini-lesson with examples.

The silent French letter H.

The silent H is when you delete it while talking because you will connect words and make liaisons.

It’s called “h muet” or mute silent.

What does H aspiré mean?

On the other hand, the “h aspiré” means that you will take it into account and will never connect this letter with the previous one.

In other words, you will emphasise its existence!

Why do you make liaisons with the silent H? 

Since you ignore the H, you jump straight to the vowel sound and make a liaison.

Simply pretend that there’s no letter H.

Let’s practise with examples: 

The word honneur in French is naturally the translation of honour. In both languages, you ignore the first letter!

Here’s an example for you:

• C’est un honneur de vous rencontrer >>> It’s an honor to meet you. 

And you will say it like the following:

• C’es tu nhonneur de vous rencontrer. 

As you can see, you split the syllables in another way when you speak and make the liaison.

Let’s continue with homme meaning man. 

You will see this:

• C’est un homme très intéressant >>> It’s an interesting man.

And say like this:

• C’es tu nhomme très intéressant. 

What about heureux / heureuse (happy) ? Ignore the h too.

If you see this:

• Je suis vraiment heureuse >>> I’m very happy.

Say that way:

• Je suis vraimen theureuse.

With the word habitude, it’s the same. 

Here’s a sentence:

• Je n’ai que de bonnes habitudes >>> I only have good habits.

And you’ll say like this:

• Je n’ai que de bonne zhabitudes. 

The French word hiver means winter. 

You could see this example:

• On a eu un hiver froid >>> We’ve had a cold winter.

And say like this:

• On a eu u nhiver froid. 

Do you know the word hirondelle? It‘s the French word for swallow like this:

• une hirondelle >>> A swallow.

And you say like this:

• uu n-hirondelle . 

Same spelling except for the accent: hôtel. Unlike in English, you’ll ignore the letter h:

• L’hôtel >>> The hotel .

And you’’ll pronounce:

• Lô-tel. 

Same thing with the word histoire meaning storie. 

You have this:

• Mon histoire >>> My story.

 And you say this way:

• Mon nhistoire. 

Have you ever heard herbe? It means grass. 

I have this illustration:

• L’herbe est très longue >>> The grass is very long.

But say like this:

• Lerbe est très longue. 

When the letter H matters at the beginning of the word. 

Time to see when you do pronounce the letter h. Oui! You’ll say it but non! Not as strong as in English!

Actually, the letter is pronounced very softly. Please watch the video to practice.

Of course, there are no liaisons or it will ruin it.

Let’s see some concrete examples.

• La Hollande >>> Holland.

Don’t forget that in French, there’s always an article before the country except if it’s an island like Cuba, Madagascar… 

• Un hamburger >>> An hamburger

• Des haricots verts >>> Green beans.

Note that many French people say it the wrong way and make the liaison!

• La hache >>> The axe. 

Imagine that you connect the two words and say something like “lâche”, the meaning is completely different. Why? Because the word lâche means coward!

• Le héros >>> The hero.

When should you or shouldn't you pronounce the letter H in French? 

Here are some tips to help you:

First, visualise the sound. Remember how to put your mouth, tongue, and everything required to say it. 

Then, vocalise the sound. Don’t stay with the idea that you know how to say it without doing it aloud. The best thing you could do would be to record your voice and listen to it after to check. Even better, get instant feedback from a native speaker.

Practise writing the sound in specific words and, as you write, say it aloud as well.

In addition, memorise one sound at a time. Master one then go ahead with another one. Trying to learn several sounds at the same time is counterproductive. 

You’re not sure? No problem, simply ask!

Finally, don’t stop the conversation if you make a mistake. People can still understand you and support you. What matters is communication and not perfection…  

If you wish to review the liaisons in French, I have this mini-lesson for you:

How to use liaisons in French

 What are your tips to memorise how to pronounce French words starting with H? I would love to know.