3 Letter Words Starting with H
There are 49 3-letter English words that start with H, ranging alphabetically from HAD to HYP. Top Scrabble® scorers on this list: HAJ (13), HEX (13), HYP (11). Roughly 8% of these words end in E, so an E-hook on the board is worth watching for.
Word list
H
- HAD7 pts
- HAE6 pts
- HAG7 pts
- HAH9 pts
- HAJ13 pts
- HAM8 pts
- HAO6 pts
- HAP8 pts
- HAS6 pts
- HAT6 pts
- HAW9 pts
- HAY9 pts
- HEH9 pts
- HEM8 pts
- HEN6 pts
- HEP8 pts
- HER6 pts
- HES6 pts
- HET6 pts
- HEW9 pts
- HEX13 pts
- HEY9 pts
- HIC8 pts
- HID7 pts
- HIE6 pts
- HIM8 pts
- HIN6 pts
- HIP8 pts
- HIS6 pts
- HIT6 pts
- HMM10 pts
- HOB8 pts
- HOD7 pts
- HOE6 pts
- HOG7 pts
- HON6 pts
- HOP8 pts
- HOT6 pts
- HOW9 pts
- HOY9 pts
- HUB8 pts
- HUE6 pts
- HUG7 pts
- HUH9 pts
- HUM8 pts
- HUN6 pts
- HUP8 pts
- HUT6 pts
- HYP11 pts
Point values shown are Scrabble® (letters only, before board bonuses). Browse deeper via the word-lists hub.
Top 10 highest-scoring words
Scored on letters only (no board bonuses). WWF uses different tile values from Scrabble — J, Q and Z are worth 10 points in WWF; X is worth 8.
| # | Word | Scrabble | WWF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | haj | 13 | 14 |
| 2 | hex | 13 | 12 |
| 3 | hyp | 11 | 10 |
| 4 | hmm | 10 | 11 |
| 5 | haw | 9 | 8 |
| 6 | hew | 9 | 8 |
| 7 | how | 9 | 8 |
| 8 | huh | 9 | 8 |
| 9 | hah | 9 | 7 |
| 10 | hay | 9 | 7 |
Strategy for this list
H is worth 4 in Scrabble but appears in dozens of two-letter and three-letter words (HA, HE, HI, HO, HM, HAH, HEM, HEX). H's Scrabble value comes from H-hooks on common words (EAR → HEAR, ARM → HARM) and from HEX and HAZE for premium-square plays. In Wordle, H is high-frequency in position 2 (SHINE, THING) but rarely in position 1 for answers — it's more common in guesses than solutions.
FAQs
How many 3-letter words start with H?
49 valid 3-letter English words begin with H in the ENABLE English word list.
Are these valid in Wordle and Scrabble?
Words on this page come from the ENABLE English word list. UK Scrabble (Collins Scrabble Words) accepts the overwhelming majority; a handful may not be legal in the North American NASPA Word List (NWL2023).