H aspiré


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Aspirated h

Despite the name, the h aspiré is not aspirated or otherwise pronounced in French. Nevertheless, it is distinct from the h muet in that it does not allow elisions or liaisons – the h acts like a consonant.

Par exemple : Je hais les hamacs. – I hate hammocks.

Because haïr begins with h aspiré, there is no elision with je. If it were h muet, you’d have to write ~~j’hais~~.
Likewise, les hamacs is pronounced [lay ah mak], not ~~[lay zah mak]~~ as it would be if hamacs started with h muet.

The following is a fairly complete list of French words that start with h aspiré. As you can see, many of them are borrowed from other languages. Since they begin with h aspiré rather than h muet, their pronunciation remains closer to that of the original language. When in doubt, consult a dictionary, which will have some symbol, usually ‘ or *, to indicate the presence of an h aspiré.

hâbleur		boaster
la hache		axe
hacher		to chop
le hachisch		hashish
le haddock		haddock
la haie		hedge
le haïku		haiku
le haillon		rag
la haine		hatred
haïr		to hate
haïssable		detestable
halal		halal
le hâle		suntan
haler		to haul
hâler		to suntan
haleter		to pant
le hall		hall
la halle		market
le hallier		thicket, brush
Halloween (f)		Halloween
le halo		halo
la halte		break
le hamac		hammock
le hamburger		hamburger
le hameau		hamlet
le hammam		hammam
la hampe		pole
le hamster		hamster
la hanche		hip
le hand-ball		handball
le handicap		handicap
le hangar		shed
hanter		to haunt
happer		to snatch, grab
harangue		harangue
harasser		to exhaust
harceler		to harass
la harde		herd
harder		to leash
hardi		daring
le hareng		herring
la hargne		spiteful anger
le haricot		bean
harnacher		to harness
le harpail		herd
la harpe		harp
le harpon		harpoon
le hasard		luck, chance
la hâte		haste
se hâter		to hasten
hausser		to harness
haut		high
la hauteur		height
le havre		haven
hercher		to haul
le hère		wretch, young stag
le hérisson		hedgehog
la hernie		hernia
le héron		heron
le héros		hero
la herse		hearse, harrow
le hêtre		beech tree
le heurt		collision
heurter		to strike
le heurtoir		door knocker
le hiatus		hiatus
le hibou		owl
le hic		snag
le hickory		hickory
hideux		hideous
la hiérarchie		hierarchy
le hiéroglyphe		hieroglyphe
hippie		hippie
hisser		to hoist, heave, haul
le hobby		hobby
hocher		to nod, shake one’s head
le hockey		hockey
la Hollande		Holland
le homard		lobster
Hong-Kong		Hong Kong
la Hongrie		Hungary
la honte		shame
le hoquet		hiccup
hoqueter		to hiccup
hors		outside
la houe		hoe
la houille		coal
la houle		swell
houleux		stormy
le hooligan		hooligan
la houppe		tuft
houspiller		to scold
la housse		cover
housser		to cover (furniture)
le houx		holly
le hublot		porthole
la huche		chest, trunk
huer		to boo
le huguenot		Huguenot
huit		eight
hululer		to hoot
humer		to smell
hurler		to shriek