* Short vowel sound: The "a" in "hair" makes the short "a" sound, like in "cat" or "hat".
* Long vowel sound: Long vowel sounds are often represented by a vowel followed by a silent "e" (like in "take" or "kite") or by a vowel with a double consonant (like in "feet" or "moon").
Therefore, "hair" is a short vowel word because the "a" makes a short sound, not a long one.