H is the eighth letter of the alphabet and the sixth consonant. It is the only letter of the Spanish alphabet that does not represent a phoneme or sound, that is, it is a silent letter.
Hola, ¿cómo estás?
Hi, how are you?¿De qué hablas?
What are you talking about?
The letter H may appear in initial, middle, or final position in the word:
- Words starting with H: harina (flour), helado (ice cream), huella (footprint).
- Words with H in them: exhibición (exhibition), vehículo (vehicle), adhesivo (adhesive).
- Words ending in H. They are very infrequent, usually being interjections or words of foreign: oh (oh), bah (huh), match (match).
Pronunciation tips: As a general rule, Spanish H is a silent letter:
hoy, hacha, anhelo
However, H is pronounced when:
- It is part of the digraph ch, which is pronounced much like the “ch” in “chair”. This is a frequent digraph in Spanish:
chaleco, leche, ducha - It is part of the digraph sh, which is pronounced much like the “sh” in “ship”. This digraph only appears in words of foreign origin, particularly English:
show, flash, short - It appears in initial position in words of foreign origin, in which case it is aspirated and pronounced much like the English /h/ sound (though stronger):
Hawai, hardware, hippie
Important: Since in most cases H is silent in Spanish, special attention should be paid to spelling rules when writing. In some cases, homophones or “equally-sounding” pairs of words are only distinguished through the H spelling:
- hola (hello), ola (wave)
- honda (deep, feminine) / onda (wave)
- hecho (participle form of the verb hacer, meaning “to do”) / echo (present form of the verb echar, meaning “to throw”)
- See also: Words with CH
Spanish nouns that start with H
| hombre man | horario schedule | hoguera bonfire |
| hija daughter | hierba grass | hipo hiccup |
| hermana sister | habitación room, bedroom | huracán hurricane |
| hora hour | hambre hunger | himno anthem |
| historia history | hielo ice | herramienta tool |
| humo smoke | hocico snout | hígado liver |
| hotel hotel | héroe hero | hierro iron |
| hospital hospital | herida wound | hechizo spell |
| hueso bone | horizonte horizon | homenaje tribute |
| hogar home | humor humor | hombro shoulder |
Animals starting with H: hipopótamo (hippopotamus), hormiga (ant), hurón (ferret), halcón (hawk), hiena (hyena), hipocampo (seahorse).
Foods starting with H: higo (fig), hinojo (fennel), haba (fava bean), hongo (mushroom), helado (ice cream), huevo (egg), harina (flour), hamburguesa (hamburger).
Jobs starting with H: herrero (blacksmith), heladero (ice cream vendor), historiador (historian), humorista (comedian), hematólogo (hematologist).
Names starting with H: Hilda, Helena, Haydée, Hugo, Héctor, Horacio.
¿Quieres helado de postre?
Do you want ice cream for dessert?Lava la herida con jabón.
Wash the wound with soap.El torneo de Wimbledon se juega en canchas de hierba.
The Wimbledon tournament is played on grass courts.Me encanta ver el sol ponerse en el horizonte.
I love watching the sun set on the horizon.
- See also: Spanish nouns
Spanish adjectives that start with H
| hermoso beautiful | histórico historical, historic | heroico heroic |
| humano human | hindú Hindu | hispano Hispanic |
| hondo deep | huérfano orphan | homogéneo homogeneous |
| habitual habitual | hipnótico hypnotic | híbrido hybrid |
| helado frozen | horizontal horizontal | hidratante hydrated |
| hambriento hungry | higiénico hygienic | herido injured |
| horrible horrible | hostil hostile | harto fed up |
| horroroso hideous | hipotético hypothetical | herbívoro herbivorous |
| húmedo humid | hereje heretic | hermético airtight |
| humillante humiliating | hediondo stinking | humorístico humorous |
¡Qué hermoso día hace hoy!
What a beautiful day it is today!Estoy hambriento; ¿qué hay de cenar?
I’m hungry; what’s for dinner?Debes ser cuidadoso porque el río es hondo.
You must be careful because the river is deep.Estoy harto de la lluvia.
I’m fed up with the rain.
Adjectives starting with H to describe a person
| honesto honest | hilarante hilarious | hipócrita hypocritical |
| humilde humble | histriónico histrionic | huraño unsociable |
| hábil skillful | hablador talkative, chatty | hiriente offensive, hurtful |
| honrado honorable | hiperactivo hyperactive | holgazán lazy, idle |
| hospitalario hospitable | haragán lazy | hipocondríaco hypochondriac |
A pesar de su fama, es una persona muy humilde.
Despite her fame, she’s a very humble person.No seas holgazán y ponte a trabajar.
Don’t be lazy and get down to work.
- See also: Spanish adjectives
Spanish verbs that start with H
| hablar to talk, speak | hinchar to swell | hurtar to steal |
| hacer to do | habituarse to get used to | hamacar to swing |
| haber to be (there is/are) | hipnotizar to hypnotize | hipotecar to mortgage |
| herir to hurt | homenajear to pay tribute | hechizar to cast a spell on |
| hervir to boil | hojear to leaf through | halagar to flatter |
| hornear to bake | habitar to live | helar to freeze |
| huir to run away | horrorizar to horrify | hartar to get on the nerves of |
| hundir to sink | hospedarse to stay | heredar inherit |
| hallar to find | hospitalizar to hospitalize | husmear pry |
| honrar to honor | humillar to humiliate | hibernar hibernate |
¿Podemos hablar un minuto?
Can we talk for a minute?No hay más leche.
There isn’t any milk left.Me estoy habituando a la vida en la ciudad.
I’m getting used to life in the city.Afortunadamente, hallaron al niño sano y salvo.
Fortunately, the boy has been found safe and sound.
- See also: Spanish verbs
Spanish adverbs that start with H
| hoy today | hermosamente beautifully | horriblemente horribly |
| hasta even | honrosamente honorably | horrorosamente hideously |
| habitualmente usually | hostilmente with hostility | horrendamente terribly |
| humildemente humbly | holgadamente comfortably | horizontalmente horizontally |
| honestamente honestly | hipnóticamente hypnotically | histriónicamente histrionically |
| honradamente decently | heroicamente heroically | hurañamente unsociably |
| humanamente humanly | hondamente deeply | herméticamente hermetically |
| hábilmente skilfully | hipotéticamente hypothetically | histéricamente hysterically |
| históricamente historically | homogéneamente homogeneously | hospitalariamente hospitably |
| hipócritamente hypocritically | humorísticamente humorously | homeopáticamente homeopathically |
Hoy es el cumpleaños de mi hermano.
Today is my brother’s birthday.Hasta los animales se sienten cansados con este calor.
Even animals feel tired in this heat.La niña canta hermosamente y también dibuja muy bien.
The girl sings beautifully and also draws very well.Estoy hondamente apenado por lo ocurrido.
I'm deeply saddened by what happened.
- See also: Spanish adverbs
More everyday Spanish words with H
Some more everyday Spanish words with H in them include:
ha, he, has
has, have (auxiliary verb forms of haber, “have”)
hacia
toward
¡Hurra!
Hooray!
Holanda
Holland
Hungría
Hungary
alcohol
alcohol
albahaca
basil
almohada
pillow
almohadilla
pad (animal)
No está permitida la venta de alcohol a menores.
The sale of alcohol to minors is not allowed.
¿Alguna vez has ido a Estados Unidos?
Have you ever been to the United States?
Mañana no hay clases, ¡hurra!
No school tomorrow, hooray!
A veces a los Países Bajos se los llama incorrectamente “Holanda”.
The Netherlands is sometimes wrongly called “Holland”.
You may also like:
Practice: Spanish words with H
References
- Wordreference.com, “hablador,” accessed October 29, 2024, https://www.wordreference.com/
- Oxford Spanish Dictionary, 3rd edition on CD-ROM, Oxford University Press.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary, accessed October 29, 2024, under “hospitably,” https://www.merriam-webster.com/
- Real Academia Española, Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, under “hasta,” accessed October 29, 2024, https://www.rae.es/
- Enciclopedia del Lenguaje, “Palabras con H,” by Carla Giani. Last updated October 25, 2024, https://lenguaje.com/
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