This list includes 32 Italian words that start with H, from “ha” to “humus”. Many are recent loanwords, grammatical forms, or words with a silent H useful for learners and translators.
Italian words that start with H are words in Italian whose written form begins with the letter H. Historically H often remains silent and appears mainly in borrowings and in forms like “ha” and “hanno”.
Below you’ll find the table with English translation and Example usage.
English translation: A concise English equivalent that helps you quickly understand each word’s basic meaning and use.
Example usage: One clear Italian sentence plus an immediate English gloss to show the word in context and improve recall.
Italian words that start with H
| Word | Part of speech | English translation | Example sentence | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ha | auxiliary | has (3rd person singular) | Lei ha un libro — She has a book. | Extremely frequent auxiliary; central in compound tenses; used in all registers. |
| hobby | noun | hobby | Il mio hobby è il calcio — My hobby is soccer. | Common anglicism; plural invariant; neutral to informal. |
| hotel | noun | hotel | Abbiamo prenotato un hotel — We booked a hotel. | Very common travel word; neutral register. |
| hamburger | noun | hamburger | Ho mangiato un hamburger — I ate a hamburger. | Widespread loanword; informal; culinary use. |
| hashtag | noun | hashtag | Usa un hashtag popolare — Use a popular hashtag. | Social-media loanword, very frequent online. |
| hardware | noun | hardware | Il hardware è aggiornato — The hardware is updated. | Tech anglicism; neutral technical register. |
| hub | noun | hub | Il hub collega molti dispositivi — The hub connects many devices. | IT/transport loanword; common in tech contexts. |
| hotspot | noun | hotspot | Il bar offre un hotspot gratuito — The bar offers a free hotspot. | Wifi-related loanword; common everyday term. |
| hacker | noun | hacker | Un hacker ha violato il sito — A hacker hacked the site. | Widely used tech loanword; neutral to informal. |
| hackerare | verb | to hack | Non devi hackerare sistemi altrui — Don’t hack other people’s systems. | Colloquial verb from English; informal usage [informal]. |
| hosting | noun | hosting | Il sito ha un buon hosting — The site has good hosting. | IT technical noun; anglicism common in web contexts. |
| hostess | noun | hostess | La hostess sorride ai passeggeri — The hostess smiles at passengers. | Common in aviation; neutral register. |
| hockey | noun | hockey | Guardiamo la partita di hockey — We watch the hockey match. | Sport name; invariable; commonly used. |
| harem | noun | harem | Il romanzo descrive un harem — The novel describes a harem. | Borrowed term; literary or historical contexts. |
| harakiri | noun | harakiri | Il gesto fu paragonato a un harakiri — The act was likened to harakiri. | Japanese loanword; literary; [rare] in everyday speech. |
| hippie | noun | hippie | Era una ragazza hippie — She was a hippie girl. | English loanword; informal; also used adjectivally. |
| hikikomori | noun | hikikomori (social withdrawal) | I giovani hikikomori restano in casa — Young hikikomori stay at home. | Japanese loanword used in social sciences; somewhat specialized. |
| habitat | noun | habitat | Il habitat della specie è minacciato — The species’ habitat is threatened. | Ecological term borrowed from Latin/French; standard usage. |
| haiku | noun | haiku | Ho scritto un breve haiku — I wrote a short haiku. | Japanese poetic form; common loanword in literary contexts. |
| hertz | noun | hertz | Il diapason vibra a 440 hertz — The tuning fork vibrates at 440 hertz. | Unit name from a surname; standard scientific usage. |
| hertziano | adjective | hertzian (relating to Hertz) | Trasmissione hertziana stabile oggi — Hertzian transmission stable today. | Technical adjective in radio and electronics. |
| handicap | noun | handicap/disadvantage | Ha superato ogni handicap con forza — He overcame every handicap with strength. | Common loanword meaning disadvantage or disability; neutral. |
| hangar | noun | hangar | L’aereo è nel hangar grande — The plane is in the large hangar. | Aviation loanword; common in travel and logistics contexts. |
| hiv | noun | HIV (virus) | La ricerca sull’hiv continua — Research on HIV continues. | Widely used acronym as noun; medical register; often lowercase in text. |
| humus | noun | humus | Il terreno è ricco di humus — The soil is rich in humus. | Borrowed term used in agriculture and gardening; neutral. |
| house | noun | house (music genre) | Ascolto musica house stasera — I listen to house music tonight. | English loan used for a music genre; informal. |
| home | noun | homepage/home | La home del sito è chiara — The site’s homepage is clear. | Web anglicism; very common in internet contexts. |
| hobbit | noun | hobbit | Il libro parla di un hobbit — The book talks about a hobbit. | Borrowed from fiction; widely used and lexicalized. |
| habanera | noun | habanera (dance/song) | La cantante interpreta una habanera — The singer performs a habanera. | Name of a dance/song; used in musical contexts. |
| halal | adjective | halal (permitted by Islamic law) | Cercano un ristorante halal — They seek a halal restaurant. | Arabic loanword used for food rules; neutral register. |
| herpes | noun | herpes | Ha un herpes labiale oggi — He has a cold sore today. | Medical term used in both everyday and clinical contexts. |
| henné | noun | henna | Si è colorata i capelli con henné — She dyed her hair with henna. | Loanword from French/Japanese use; common in cosmetics. |
Descriptions
ha
hobby
hotel
hamburger
hashtag
hardware
hub
hotspot
hacker
hackerare
hosting
hostess
hockey
harem
harakiri
hippie
hikikomori
habitat
haiku
hertz
hertziano
handicap
hangar
hiv
humus
house
home
hobbit
habanera
halal
herpes
henné