Producing /h/

How to produce /h/

Open your mouth for the vowel that follows and just breathe out — no friction in the throat, no scrape at the back of the tongue. It is only air. Common L2 errors: dropping /h/ (hat → at), a harsh throat sound like the Spanish j or Arabic kh, and adding /h/ where it is silent (hour, honest).

Practice the sound in isolation

Say 'hat' slowly. Hold the target sound. Record yourself — does it match your mental model of the native version?

A few varied words

• At the start: hat, house, happy
• Inside the word: behind, ahead, perhaps
• Silent h: hour, honest, honor