What is H mute in French

A to Z French Grammar 6/1000

 H in French

In French, there are two types of "h" sounds: "h muet" (silent h) and "h aspiré" (aspirated h).(Video is attached below)

1- H Muet

In French, there are some words that start with an "h" but you don't really hear it when you say them. These are called "h muet" or silent h. They're kind of like they start with a vowel instead of the h sound.

When you have a word with a silent h at the beginning, you have to do something special called elision and liaison before it. It's like you treat the h muet as if it's not there.

It’s like a silent vowel in French. It follows vowel rules.

So, just remember, with words that have a silent h, you have to do Liaison and Elision before them.

Liaison

 is when the final consonant sound of one word links with the initial vowel sound of the following word, especially in spoken language. This is done to maintain the flow of speech.

Example 1: "Les enfants" - In this phrase, the final "s" in "les" links with the initial "e" sound in "enfants." So, it's pronounced like "lez-enfants" with a slight "z" sound linking the two words.

Example 2: "Un ami" - Here, the final "n" in "un" links with the initial "a" sound in "ami," so it's pronounced like "un-nami" with a slight "n" sound linking the two words.

Examples with Liaison:

Un hôpital (a hospital): In this case, "un" is followed by "hôpital", which starts with a silent "h". However, due to liaison rules, you pronounce the liaison, making it sound like "unôpital".

Des hôtels (some hotels): Similarly, "des" is followed by "hôtels", which begins with a silent "h". You pronounce the liaison, so it sounds like "dezôtels".

Les hommes (the men): Here, "les" is followed by "hommes", which starts with a silent "h". The liaison is pronounced, so it sounds like "lezommes".

Elision 

in French is when a vowel at the end of a word is dropped or "elided" when the next word begins with a vowel or a silent "h."

For example:

"Je aime" becomes "J'aime" (I love).

"Tu as" becomes "T'as" (You have).

In these examples, the vowel "e" in "je" and "tu" is dropped before the following word starting with a vowel.

J'aime l'été (I like summer): 

Here, "l'" combines with "été" to form "l'été", pronounced as "l'été". The elision takes place because "été" starts with a vowel sound.

Examples with Elision:

L'hôpital (the hospital): In this case, "le" contracts with "hôpital" to form "l'", pronounced as "lôpital". The elision occurs because the word "hôpital" starts with a vowel sound.

L'homme (the man): Similarly, "le" contracts with "homme" to form "l'homme", pronounced as "lomme". Again, the elision happens because "homme" begins with a vowel sound.

L'hiver (the winter): In this case, "le" contracts with "hiver" to form "l'hiver", pronounced as "livère". The elision occurs because the word "hiver" starts with a vowel sound.

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