aspirated h

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aspirated h

/ˈæspəɹeɪ̯tɪd eɪ̯tʃ/

Where it comes from

Calque of French h aspiré. The aspirated h was pronounced /h/ until Early Modern French (and still is in some northern dialects), whereas the mute h had long been silent. The designation has been maintained although both kinds of h are now technically silent in standard French, but the aspirated h remains pronounced dialectally and in Norman French.

noun

French In the French language, usage of the letter h at the start of a word which does not allow liaison with a preceding consonant or elision of a preceding schwa. The French word héros ("hero") begins with an aspirated h. Consequently we say le héros /lə e.ʁo/ and les héros /le e.ʁo/, but never /l‿e.ʁo/ and /le‿ze.ʁo/ as we do with the mute h.
Similar: Germanic h, fr:h aspiré
literally Aspiration of a glottal consonant.

Opposite: mute h, silent h, unaspirated h

Thesaurus

noun

Opposite: mute h, silent h, unaspirated h

Translations

Every language

noun in the French language, usage of the letter h at the start of a word which does not allow liaison with a preceding consonant

Español	h aspirada, hache aspirada
日本語	有音のh yūon no asshu
Português	h aspirado
Français	h aspiré
Italiano	h aspirata
Русский	придыха́тельное аш pridyxátelʹnoje aš

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MLA

"aspirated h." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/aspirated%20h. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

aspirated h. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/aspirated%20h

Chicago

"aspirated h." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/aspirated%20h.

BibTeX

@misc{aspirated_h_2026,
  title = {aspirated h},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/aspirated%20h},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}