𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚣𝚎 🇺🇸

[wispy lily]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

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Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[solid aurora]

The letter H is considered a consonnent the le gets an apostrophe only if it's a vowel. Like A, E, I, O, U or Y. H might be mute, still considered a consonnent.

[ebon acorn]

But don’t we also say l’homme

[solid aurora]

Also yes. But French LOVES exceptions homme, and à few other words have that. But hauteur doesn't.

In French when you say "l'hauteur" we understand the Author, l'auteur. I think that's why

[ebon acorn]

Oooo

How do you know the exceptions 🗿

[solid aurora]

I'm used 😄

[ebon acorn]

Mdr

[solid aurora]

Even as French born French is hard 😉

[ebon acorn]

Je vois

Merci

[solid aurora]

De rien ! J'espère que ça t'aidera bien

[rose delta]

it's not exactly an exception
what's happening is that French has two types of H at the beginning of words:

• mute H do not block elision or liaison
  ex: l'homme, l'héroïne
• aspirated H block liaison and elision
  ex: le héros, la hauteur

There isn't really a rule as to when a H is one or the other. You mostly have to learn them.
Etymology can help but it's not really helpful for most people and as you can see even related words like héros and héroïne can use a different H.
note: none of those is actually pronounced. Despite their name, aspirated H are silent and not aspirated

[dark shard]

Certains disent que c'est pour faire la différence avec « l'auteur ».

Les mots avec le H muet tendent à venir du latin ou du grec et ceux avec le H aspiré, du francique. Mais ce n'est pas toujours le cas.