Lessons Unit 3, lesson 7
h + vowels
The h beginning opening into every vowel it starts words with. Get the mouth ready for h, release straight into the vowel — no gap, no extra sound between them.
What do the marks mean?
Want the full walkthrough? Read the map explains every mark, with practice.
hh as in happy
Just breathe out, like fogging a window: h. The lightest sound in English — but don't skip it.
h + every vowel
One row per combination. Tap any word to hear it — every sheet comes straight from the tool.
| h æ | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| h ɪ | |||
| h ɛ | |||
| h ʌ | |||
| h ʊ | |||
| h ɑ | |||
| h iː | |||
| h uː | |||
| h ɔː | |||
| h eɪ | |||
| h aɪ | |||
| h aʊ | |||
| h oʊ | |||
| h ɝ |
A sound that only exists before a vowel
H is really just a puff of breath shaped by whatever vowel comes next — it has no fixed tongue position of its own, and in English it only ever occurs right before a vowel. That's why he and who feel so different: the h in he is already shaped like iː, while the h in who is already rounded like uː, before the vowel properly starts.
Don't skip the breath
In casual speech, words like his, him, and her often lose their h after another word ("give 'im a call"), but at the start of a sentence, or when reading this table, keep it fully audible. Notice how hook and hood round your lips early for the short ʊ, while heart and hard open the jaw wide for ɑ.
Read a column aloud, then whisper it — since h is just breath, whispering makes it much easier to isolate and check that it's really there.