Decoding the letter H

The letter H, lowercase h (pronounced /eɪtʃ/) normally represents IPA phoneme /h/. For examples see IPA phoneme /h/.

At the end of the word "h" is silent:
 * cheetah - Deborah - pharaoh - Sarah - Utah

In other positions exceptionally "h" can be silent.
 * annihilation /əˌnaɪəˈleɪʃən/ - Birmingham - chihuahua /tʃɪˈwɑːwɑ, tʃɪˈwɑːwə/ - dachshund - exhaust - exhibition - honest - honor - honour - hour - Nottingham - prohibition - shepherd - vehement - vehicle

Homophones
 * hour - our

H in combinations

 * "bh": as /b/. Bhutan
 * "ch": see Decoding exercises: "ch"
 * "gh": see Decoding exercises: "gh"
 * "kh": see IPA phonetic symbol [x]
 * "ph": see Decoding the letter P
 * "rh" and "rrh" sound like "r"
 * arrhythmia - catarrh - diarrhea - diarrhoea - rhinoceros - rhyme - rhythm
 * sounded "h": waterhole


 * "sh": see IPA phoneme /ʃ/
 * "sh" as /sh/: see Decoding exercises: "sh"


 * "th": see Decoding exercises: "th"
 * "wh" in contemporary English in most dialects is identical to "w". See IPA phoneme /w/
 * "zh": see IPA phoneme /ʒ/