hþen
hþen is a term used in linguistic and philological discussions as an illustrative or hypothetical orthographic sequence rather than as a standard lexical item in any language. It combines the consonant h with the thorn letter þ, a character historically used to represent the sounds /θ/ and /ð/ in Old English, Old Norse, and related Germanic languages. The form hþen does not appear as a common word in surviving texts; instead, it serves to demonstrate how thorn interacts with adjacent letters, or how thorn is rendered in transcription, transcription conventions, and digital typography.
In languages that employed thorn, þ stood for the voiceless dental fricative /θ/ (as in thin) or the
As a label, hþen functions mainly as an educational or analytical tool to discuss orthographic practices, thorn’s
thorn (letter), Old English orthography, Old Norse, Germanic linguistics, orthography and transcription.