In French, there are two types of “h”: the h muet (mute h) and the h aspiré (aspirated h). Both are silent in pronunciation, but they behave differently in grammar.

• The h muet behaves as if the word begins with a vowel:
  • Elision occurs: l’homme (not le homme)
  • Liaison occurs: les hommes is pronounced leˊ‿zomlé‿zom
• The h aspiré, while still silent, blocks elision and liaison:
  • Say le héros, not l’héros
  • Say les héros LAY AY ROH, not LAY ZAY ROH (les zéros!)

This distinction is important for correct French grammar and pronunciation and must be learned word by word. Words starting with an h aspiré come from non-Latin origins, unlike h muet words. These non-Latin origins are usually Germanic, but sometimes Old Norse, Dutch, Frankish, Ancient Greek, Taíno or even English.

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List of nouns with h aspiré

Each entry includes the noun’s gender, plural form, and English meaning.

• la hache (f) – les haches – axe, hatchet
• la haine (f) – les haines – hatred
• la haleine (f) – les haleines – breath
• la halte (f) – les haltes – stop, break, pause
• le halte-garderie (m) – les halte-garderies – drop-in daycare centre
• le hamac (m) – les hamacs – hammock
• le hamburger (m) – les hamburgers – hamburger
• le handicap (m) – les handicaps – disability, handicap
• le handball (m) – les handballs – handball (sport)
• le hangar (m) – les hangars – shed, hangar
• le haricot (m) – les haricots – bean
• la harpe (f) – les harpes – harp
• la hargne (f) – les hargnes – aggressiveness, dogged determination, rage
• le hasard (m) – les hasards – chance, luck
• la hausse (f) – les hausses – rise, increase
• le haut (m) – les hauts – top
• le hautbois (m) – les hautbois – oboe
• la hérésie (f) – les hérésies – heresy
• le héros (m) – les héros – hero
• la herse (f) – les herses – harrow (farming tool) or portcullis
• la honte (f) – les hontes – shame
• le homard (m) – les homards – lobster
• le hot-dog (m) – les hot-dogs – hot dog
• le houblon (m) – les houblons – hops (for beer)
• la houle (f) – les houles – swell, rolling sea
• le houx (m) – les houx – holly
• le hublot (m) – les hublots – porthole, airplane window
• le hussard (m) – les hussards – hussar (light cavalry soldier)
• la hutte (f) – les huttes – hut
• le hockey (m) – les hockeys – hockey

List of adjectives with h aspiré

• haineux / haineuse – haineux, haineuses – hateful, full of hatred
• hardi / hardie – hardis, hardies – bold, daring, fearless
• hargneux / hargneuse – hargneux, hargneuses – snarling, aggressive, surly
• hâtif / hâtive – hâtifs, hâtives – hasty, premature
• haut / haute – hauts, hautes – high, tall
• hirsute (invariable in gender) – hirsutes – shaggy, unkempt, bushy
• honteux / honteuse – honteux, honteuses – ashamed, shameful
• hostile (invariable in gender) – hostiles – hostile, unfriendly

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Notes on usage

• Use the full article (le, la, les) with h aspiré nouns:
  Say le haricot, not l’haricot.
• Do not make liaison:
  Say les héros LAY AY ROH, not LAY ZAY ROH, which sounds like les zéros.
• Though unpronounced, the h aspiré behaves like a consonant for grammatical purposes.
• This behaviour is not predictable from spelling, so dictionaries often mark h aspiré words with a special symbol (e.g. an asterisk or apostrophe).
• The same rules apply to adjectives:
  • e.g. un homme haineux (with haineux being h aspiré) has no liaison from homme to haineux