h / j

The Letters H and J

Level 1

Always write the h: hau (this), nahi (to want). Whether you say it depends on the region. For j, you will hear both a y-sound and a Spanish-style jota.

How It Works

The letter h

Euskaltzaindia fixed the spelling of h in 1979. To know whether a word has an h, check a dictionary. Most words have at most one h, in the first or second syllable: hau (this), hemen (here), hitz (word), hiru (three), ahal (can), zahar (old), nahi (to want).

  • In the South (Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba and Navarre), the h is usually silent.
  • In the North, many speakers breathe it like the h in English hat.

Even if you do not say the h, keep the vowels around it apart in careful speech: behi (cow) is be-i, not bei, and ehun (hundred) is e-un, not eun.

The letter j

Euskaltzaindia's guide to careful pronunciation gives j a y-sound, as in English yes: jan, joan, Jon. In Gipuzkoa and eastern Bizkaia you will often hear the throaty jota of Spanish jamón, and other regions have still other sounds. Both are natural in everyday speech. For careful speech, Euskaltzaindia prefers the y-sound, so it is a safe one to learn.

The words hau, hori and hura and hemen and han are some of the first h-words you will meet.

Examples (5)

  1. Hau nire etxea da.

    This is my house.

    Word by Word: This my house-the is.

    Hau begins with a written h. Most Southern speakers do not pronounce it.

  2. Hemen bizi naiz.

    I live here.

    Word by Word: Here living I-am.

    Hemen (here) also begins with h.

  3. Kafe bat nahi dut.

    I want a coffee.

    Word by Word: Coffee one want I-have.

    Say nahi as two syllables, na-i, even if you do not pronounce the h.

  4. Jon etxera joan da.

    Jon has gone home.

    Word by Word: Jon house-to gone is.

    The j in Jon and joan sounds like English y or like a jota, depending on the region.

  5. Zer jan nahi duzu?

    What do you want to eat?

    Word by Word: What eat want you-have?

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the written h.

    Au nire etxea da.
    Hau nire etxea da.

    The h is part of the standard spelling, even though many speakers do not pronounce it.

  • Dropping the h and joining the vowels.

    Kafe bat nai dut.
    Kafe bat nahi dut.

    The word is nahi, with an h. In careful speech it keeps two syllables, na-i.

  • Writing y for the j sound.

    Zer yan nahi duzu?
    Zer jan nahi duzu?

    Basque writes this sound with j, even when it sounds like English y. The letter y is only for foreign names.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

h / jLevel 1The Letters H and J

Learn This First

These two letters are learned against the whole alphabet.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.