Trap 2 of 22 · French speakers
Say the H and the final consonant: hotel, concert
Prononcez le H et la consonne finale : hotel, concert
What French speakers do
You drop the H ('otel, 'istory) and the last consonant (con-CER, mo-MAN), exactly as in French.
The American rule
Say the H as a breath of air before the vowel. Say the final consonants, especially -nt and -rt: con-cerT, mo-menT.
Two French habits work together here, and both make a cognate sound French straight away.
The H. French writes H but never says it. In English the H is a real sound: a short breath, like fogging a window. Hotel = hoh-TEL, history = HIS-tuh-ree. Practice by holding a hand in front of your mouth — you should feel air on the H.
Exceptions, where English is silent too: hour, honest, honor, heir — and in American English, herb (URB).
The final consonant. French drops most final consonants: concert ends on the vowel. English says them: concert = KAHN-sert, moment = MOH-munt, respect = rih-SPEKT. The T is often light or cut short in American speech — but it is there, and the vowel before it is short.
The words
hotel
/hoʊˈtɛl/
✗o-TEL
✓hoh-TEL
“Our hotel is near the beach.”
hospital
/ˈhɑspɪtəl/
✗os-pi-TAL
✓HAHS-pih-dul
“She works at the hospital.”
history
/ˈhɪstəri/
✗is-to-RI
✓HIS-tuh-ree
“I love reading about history.”
horrible
/ˈhɔrəbəl/
✗o-RI-bluh
✓HOR-uh-bul
“The weather was horrible.”
habit
/ˈhæbɪt/
✗a-BI
✓HAB-it
“Running is a good habit.”
hero
/ˈhɪroʊ/
✗é-RO
✓HEER-oh
“My dad is my hero.”
horizon
/həˈraɪzən/
✗o-ri-ZON
✓huh-RYE-zun
“The sun dropped below the horizon.”
concert
/ˈkɑnsɚt/
✗kon-SER
✓KAHN-sert
“We went to a concert last night.”
moment
/ˈmoʊmənt/
✗mo-MAN
✓MOH-munt
“Just a moment, please.”
respect
/rɪˈspɛkt/
✗res-PÉ
✓rih-SPEKT
“I have a lot of respect for her.”
client
/ˈklaɪənt/
✗kli-YAN
✓KLY-unt
Also a gliding vowel: KLY, not KLI.
“I have a call with a client.”
dessert
/dɪˈzɝt/
✗dé-SER
✓dih-ZURT
Desert (sand) is DEZ-ert — stress decides which word you said.
“What's for dessert?”