IELTS Pronunciation Practice: h at the start of words

Technique

How to say it

1
Open your mouth in the shape of the following vowel and exhale gently without vibrating your vocal cords.
2
Ensure your tongue does not touch the roof of your mouth or create harsh friction.
3
Immediately turn on your voice as you move into the subsequent vowel sound.
4
Practise contrasting pairs aloud to check that your throat stays relaxed when pronouncing the aspiration.

8 pairs

Minimal pairs

Say each pair aloud. If the two words sound the same when you record yourself, slow down and go back to the steps above.

hair/air
hear/ear
hate/eight
hold/old
heart/art
heat/eat
hill/ill
hedge/edge

12 sentences

Practice lines from IELTS-style answers

1
I have lived in a historic home near the harbour for half my life.
/h/ in have, historic, home, harbour, half
2
To be honest, finding a healthy balance between work and home is hard.
silent 'h' in honest; /h/ in healthy, home, hard
3
My hometown has huge hills where people hike during the summer holidays.
/h/ in hometown, huge, hills, hike, holidays
4
I hope to improve my speaking habits so I can communicate naturally.
/h/ in hope, habits
5
My father is a hard-working man who helped me choose my career path.
/h/ in hard-working, who, helped
6
We stayed in a lovely holiday flat with a huge heated pool.
/h/ in holiday, huge, heated
7
Heavy traffic makes the morning commute horrible for thousands of workers.
/h/ in heavy, horrible
8
I had to hold back my excitement when I heard the news.
/h/ in had, hold, heard
9
Public healthcare is a massive help for households on low incomes.
/h/ in healthcare, help, households
10
Living in a high-rise flat makes it hard to host large family dinners.
/h/ in high-rise, hard, host
11
I genuinely hope that our local council can handle the housing shortage.
/h/ in hope, handle, housing
12
Going on regular hikes has had a huge impact on my overall health.
/h/ in hikes, has, had, huge, health

Say it in a real answer

Record an IELTS Speaking answer and get a Pronunciation band from the AI examiner, with the exact words that were hard to understand.

Watch out

Common mistakes

→Dropping the /h/ sound entirely from words like 'happy' or 'hotel', which can cause misunderstandings.
→Inserting an intrusive /h/ sound before words starting with vowels, such as saying 'hedge' instead of 'edge'.
→Tightening the throat and creating a harsh rasping sound rather than a smooth, unvoiced exhalation.

In the exam: Watch out for common words with a silent 'h' such as 'honest', 'hour', and 'honour' during your test responses.

Frequently asked questions

How much does pronunciation count in IELTS Speaking?+

A quarter of your Speaking band. Examiners judge how easy you are to understand and how well you use features like stress, rhythm and intonation, not whether you sound British or American.

Do I need a native accent for Band 8?+

No. An accent is fine at every band. What matters is that individual sounds are clear, stress falls on the right syllables and your intonation helps the listener follow you.

How should I practise these lines?+

Read each line slowly, then at natural speed, then record yourself and compare. Say the sentences in a real answer next, because examiners hear your pronunciation while you think, not while you read.

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h at the start of words (hair / air)

How to say it

Minimal pairs

Practice lines from IELTS-style answers

Common mistakes

Frequently asked questions

More consonant sounds practice