h sound
Voiceless glottal fricative
The h sound is the breathy, voiceless consonant at the start of words like *hat*, *hello*, and *behind*—made by pushing air through an open throat without vibrating the vocal cords.
In some dialects and casual speech, the h sound drops: *'ello* for *hello*, *'im* for *him*.
This dropping, called h-dropping, is stigmatized in some contexts but standard in others.
- hushAbsence of sound
- hushed tonesSoft, subdued speech
- whisperSpeech without full voice
- held breathAir retained in lungs
- breathAir taken in
exhale · heavy breathing · hiss · hollow · hushed · harsh · heavy · hot air · humid · haze · hoarse · huffing · heave · hum · hip hop · hover · hint · haunting