How to pronounce H

Italian consonant

H is always silent. You never hear it. This also applies to foreign words.

HH sound
Io ho, tu hai, lui ha.I have, you have, he has.

However, H is used together with C and G to produce CHE/CHI and GHE/GHI sounds.

How to pronounce CHE/CHI

You pronounce CHE and CHI respectively as “keh” and “key”.

Examples:

Barche, oche, cachi, chinoBoats, geese, kakis, crouched down
a couple on a yellow boat

How to pronounce GHE/GHI

You pronounce GHE and GHI respectively as “geh” and “gee”.

Examples:

Ghepardo, alghe, ghiro, maghiCheetah, algae, dormouse, wizards

Other Italian words with the H sound

PreghieraPrayer
SpaghettoSpaghetto
ChilometroKilometer
PacchettoSmall parcel
HotelHotel
HamburgerHamburger
three hamburgers

Your turn!

Pronounce each given word.


More free Italian resources

You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:

Aiuta Lingookies con un 👍!

❤️ If you liked this lesson on how to pronounce H in Italian, share it with your friends!

Leave a Comment