The Letter h

Level 1

Say the h: hljeb, hiljada, hvala.

How It Works

English h is a soft puff of air. Bosnian h is firmer and made a little further back in the mouth.

  • At the start: hvala (thank you), hljeb (bread), hiljada (thousand), hajde (come on).
  • In the middle: kahva (coffee), mehko (soft), kuhati (to cook).
  • At the end: orah (walnut).

Some words are heard with and without it. People say both lahko and lako, and both are standard.

In careful speech keep the h. Dropping it can change a word, as in hrana (food) and rana (wound), and it can make you sound like a speaker from another region.

Examples (4)

  1. Hvala na kafi.

    Thanks for the coffee.

    Hvala starts with a clear h.

  2. Hljeb je svjež.

    The bread is fresh.

    Hljeb has both h and lj.

  3. Hajde, idemo!

    Come on, let's go!

    Hajde is an everyday word with h.

  4. Hiljadu puta hvala!

    A thousand thanks!

    Hiljadu starts with h, just like hvala.

How It Connects

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

The Letter hLevel 1

Learn This First

The letter h is part of the alphabet.

Words in This Pattern

slovo