80 Spanish Words That Start With H: From Verbs To Adverbs With Examples
In this blog post, you’ll find 80 Spanish words that start with H. H in Spanish is an interesting… concept, let’s say it this way. It’s not as easy as it may first seem, but you can tackle this challenge.
Butterfly Spanish made a video about the problems surrounding H in Spanish. Take a look!
We’re going to start with the short history of the letter H in Spanish, then go through all the Spanish words that start with H: verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs in Spanish.
We’ll even share a cool learning tip with you at the end, so stay tuned!
1. The short history of the Spanish letter H
The Spanish H has a unique story.
It’s a silent letter in most cases, a remnant of Latin and Greek origins.
While it doesn’t make a sound, it’s really important in written Spanish spelling and distinguishing between words.
Here are a few examples already, before we group the words into different categories:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hora | Hour |
| Haber | To have (auxiliary) |
| Hijo | Son |
| Hacer | To do/make |
| Huevo | Egg |
| Hombre | Man |
| Hablar | To speak |
| Hierba | Grass |
| Hueso | Bone |
| Hoy | Today |
2. Spanish verbs that start with H
Spanish H-verbs are a mixed bag of common and less frequent words.
Here’s a taste of what Spanish has to offer:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hablar | To speak |
| Hallar | To find |
| Herir | To hurt |
| Hervir | To boil |
| Hundir | To sink |
| Huir | To flee |
| Hibernar | To hibernate |
| Hipnotizar | To hypnotize |
| Honrar | To honor |
| Hilvanar | To baste (sewing) |
| Hurgar | To rummage |
| Hospedar | To host |
| Humillar | To humiliate |
| Heredar | To inherit |
| Hidratar | To hydrate |
3. Spanish nouns that start with H
From everyday objects to abstract concepts, H-nouns cover a wide range of topics.
Try to use them in your sentences, or practice with Spanish translation exercises.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hombre | Man |
| Hoja | Leaf |
| Helado | Ice cream |
| Humo | Smoke |
| Horno | Oven |
| Hierro | Iron |
| Hada | Fairy |
| Hueso | Bone |
| Hermano | Brother |
| Hielo | Ice |
| Hamaca | Hammock |
| Huella | Footprint |
| Hormiga | Ant |
| Hilo | Thread |
| Hechizo | Spell |
| Hogar | Home |
| Herida | Wound |
| Huracán | Hurricane |
| Humanidad | Humanity |
| Hígado | Liver |
4. Spanish adjectives that start with H
Spice up your descriptions with these H-adjectives:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hermoso | Beautiful |
| Honesto | Honest |
| Húmedo | Humid |
| Horrible | Horrible |
| Hábil | Skillful |
| Hueco | Hollow |
| Hambriento | Hungry |
| Humilde | Humble |
| Helado | Frozen |
| Hiperactivo | Hyperactive |
| Histórico | Historic |
| Hogareño | Homey |
| Huraño | Unsociable |
| Hilarante | Hilarious |
| Hipnótico | Hypnotic |
| Heroico | Heroic |
| Herido | Wounded |
| Hostil | Hostile |
| Huérfano | Orphaned |
| Hechicero | Bewitching |
5. Spanish adverbs that start with H
While less common, H-adverbs add a bit of different taste to your Spanish sentences:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hoy | Today |
| Habitualmente | Usually |
| Honestamente | Honestly |
| Hábilmente | Skillfully |
| Hermosamente | Beautifully |
| Horrorosamente | Horribly |
| Humildemente | Humbly |
| Heroicamente | Heroically |
| Hipotéticamente | Hypothetically |
| Horizontalmente | Horizontally |
| Holgadamente | Comfortably |
| Honradamente | Honorably |
| Histriónicamente | Histrionically |
| Homogéneamente | Homogeneously |
| Humorísticamente | Humorously |
6. Learn Spanish words that start with H with Conversation Based Chunking
Okay, and now… onto the secret recipe we mentioned at the beginning.
Conversation Based Chunking is a nifty technique for learning vocabulary. Instead of memorizing isolated words, you learn them in context through dialogues or phrases.
For H-words, you can try this:
“Hola, hermano. Hoy hace horrible calor. ¿Quieres un helado?” (Hello, brother. It’s horribly hot today. Do you want an ice cream?)
This short conversation includes several H-words:
- hola (hello)
- hermano (brother)
- hoy (today)
- horrible (horrible)
- hace (it makes/does), and
- helado (ice cream).
If you learn these chunks like this, you’ll remember them easily. Give it a shot with your favorite H-words from this list!
Or look for other Spanish words starting with E, for example. The concept stays the same.
And there you have it – a whirlwind tour of Spanish words starting with H.
We’re sure that this method will help you in the long-term. So, just practice, practice, practice! To help you out on this language learning journey, we will send you a FREE Spanish Chunking Starter Pack.