# Pronouncing "H" as "Haych"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-h-as-haych/242120>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 26, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-h-as-haych/242120 "2004-04-26T16:50:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-h-as-haych/242120/1 "2004-04-26T16:50:30Z")

</div>

Americans seem to call the letter “H” “aych” (or “aytch”) but some Australians and apparently some from Britain call it “haych”. (But since English people often don’t pronounce things fully many perhaps call it “aych” [similar to 'ello, etc]).

I was wondering how common the “haych” pronounciation is in different English speaking countries, and what the correct pronounciation is as far as dictionaries are concerned. Well in my Aussie dictionaries it looks like “aych” is the correct way. I wonder why some Aussies started pronouncing it differently… perhaps they thought it is more logical (since it includes the “h” sound).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-h-as-haych/242120/2 "2004-04-26T18:27:14Z")

</div>

[Previous thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=241724)