LingoflyH h — hache
«hache» is a consonant of the Spanish script. Not pronounced on its own. The letter is there, the sound is not. For example, in the word “hola” — hello. The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. 'hola' comes out 'OH-lah'; hola and ola (wave) sound identical. The exceptions are the combination ch and a few loanwords such as hámster, where h sounds like j. It appears, for example, in the word “hola” — hello.
In short
| Character | H h |
| Name | hache |
| Sound | silent |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 8th of 30: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are g and i, appears in 337 words of this site.
How it sounds
Not pronounced on its own. The letter is there, the sound is not
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- hello
The character in the “letters that mislead” group
This is where Spanish departs most sharply from what an English reader expects — and where its most frequent beginner mistakes live.
Words with this character
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound (for «hache» it is “silent”, as in the word “hola”), see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 27 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Spanish character h read?
Silent. It is a consonant of the Spanish script. Not pronounced on its own. The letter is there, the sound is not. For example, in the word “hola” — hello.
What is the letter h called?
Hache is what this character is called when the alphabet is recited aloud.