Est-ce qu’ is the required contraction of est-ce que in front of a vowel or mute h; for example,

Est-ce qu’il y a du pain ? – Is there any bread?

“est-ce qu’” and “est-ce que” are the same. “est-ce que” becomes “est-ce qu’” when placed before a vowel.

Both are used to start a question.

For example :

• “est-ce que tu m’aimes ?” (“Do you love me?”)
• “est-ce qu’elle m’aime ?” (“Does she love me?”)