# H is always silent

> id: pronunciation.h-silent · category: pronunciation · depth: standard · levels: A1 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** Hola = 'ola', ahora = 'aora', alcohol = 'alcol'. The only h you hear is inside ch (mucho). Foreign words (hotel, hospital) — still silent.

Zero exceptions in native words: hombre, hijo, hasta, ahí. The letter survives from Latin/Arabic etymology only.

Knock-on effects: hielo starts with the diphthong /je/ (hence agua y hielo, not e), and h never blocks linking: los hombres ≈ 'lo-som-bres'.

Two knock-on effects are worth internalizing: hielo opens with the diphthong /je/, which is why it takes y (agua y hielo, not e); and a silent h never blocks linking, so los hombres runs together as 'lo-som-bres'. The letter is pure etymology — Latin or Arabic — with no native exceptions.

## Examples
- Hola, ¿hay alguien ahí? — Hello, is anyone there? *(Three silent h's.)*
- El hotel está hasta el fondo. — The hotel is at the very end.
- Hola, ¿hay hielo? — 'ola, ai yelo': ninguna hache se oye. — Hi, is there ice? — none of the h's are heard.

Related: pronunciation.g-j, grammar.conjunctions.y-e-o-u

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