# Broccoli pronunciation **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2009, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012 "2009-11-18T06:56:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/21 "2009-11-19T23:03:46Z")
There’s a Monty Python sketch where it’s pronounced that way - it’s the one where a guy goes to a funeral home and the funeral home guy convinces him that he should eat his dead mother with a bit of broccol-eye and stuffing. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/22 "2009-11-21T01:53:01Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > In the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney, Australia. I grew up in the suburbs of Sydney, and so did my friend. > > I know that’s pretty obscure, but I’m wondering if the “broccolai” pronunciation exists anywhere else in the world (e.g. Ireland, say, or parts of the US). Ireland checking in and it is pronounced “brocollee” here. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/23 "2009-11-21T01:55:53Z")
> [@Kiwi\_Fruit](#): > > When I saw that aitch/haitch distinction, I figured you were from Oz and either Catholic or Protestant with Catholic friends. I have a work mate who was schooled at a Catholic school and always pronounces it haitch. > > Back to the OP. Generally as you pronounce it around here, although I have heard the other, but can’t remember where or when. Ha, ha, I didn’t know they had that there too. It’s a “true fact” that Catholics in Northern Ireland say “Haitch” while Protestants say “aitch”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/24 "2009-11-21T02:02:53Z")
Were it not for the Python reference, I’d be convinced it was unique to Australia at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Omee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@Omee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omee)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/25 "2013-04-21T10:06:12Z")
It as actually pronounced Broccol-eye as it is the plural of Brocoll (or Broccolo) which are the single florets. Delicious chocolate dipped believe it or not. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/26 "2013-04-21T10:55:38Z")
I remember having a bit of fun with folks when I moved from Oregon to Texas, and I tried to convince a few people that in Oregon we pronounce it bro-CHO-lee (like cho as in chosen). But no, I’ve never heard it pronounced anything other than brock-lee or if I did maybe a 3 syllable version that sounds very similar to brock-lee. ---
**Author:** ![Scholar\_Beardpig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Scholar\_Beardpig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scholar_Beardpig)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/27 "2013-04-21T11:08:06Z")
My linguistic background is that my father was from upstate NY, as were both his parents, and my mother was from South Miami, father from Cincinnati, mother from Augusta KY. I pronounce it ‘BRA-gul-Lee.’ With the ‘gul’ really having a schwa in it, like the second syllable of ‘gargle.’ I just find it hard to go from a voiced syllable to an unvoiced one, so ‘broccoli’ becomes ‘broggoli.’ ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/28 "2013-04-21T12:35:35Z")
The brocco-lye pronunciation reminds me that although it started in jest, it seems everyone in my family now says asparagi (pronounced ass-par-i-guy). That is, of course, unless they’re going to limit themselves to one piece 😉 (and this began decades before Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss) ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/29 "2013-04-21T13:55:34Z")
I say /ˈbɹɑk.li/ I’ve heard some others say /ˈbɹɑ.kə.li/, but my two-syllable pronunciation seems more common in the US, unless you ASK people how they pronounce the word, then they affect a third syllable. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/30 "2013-04-21T14:48:08Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I say /ˈbɹɑk.li/ > I’ve heard some others say /ˈbɹɑ.kə.li/, but my two-syllable pronunciation seems more common in the US, unless you ASK people how they pronounce the word, then they affect a third syllable. Just a friendly tip: there’s no reason you can’t just use /r/ in phonemic transcriptions for English. Just like you didn’t use /ɒ/. And, yes, asking people how they pronounce something is prone to error. When answering that question, be sure to wait a bit so you aren’t thinking about the pronunciation, and then use it in a sentence you use a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/31 "2013-04-21T15:06:55Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Just a friendly tip: there’s no reason you can’t just use /r/ in phonemic transcriptions for English. Just like you didn’t use /ɒ/. I didn’t use /ɒ/ because there is no rounding. /ɑ/ (not /a/) seemed a better match. ---
**Author:** ![thicksantorum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@thicksantorum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thicksantorum)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/32 "2013-04-21T16:37:53Z")
brok-kuh-li with the middle “u” devoiced so it sounds like 2 syllables ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/33 "2013-04-21T17:04:55Z")
[Newman]Evil weed![/Newman] ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/34 "2013-04-21T19:23:40Z")
> [@Omee](#): > > It as actually pronounced Broccol-eye as it is the plural of Brocoll (or Broccolo) which are the single florets. Delicious chocolate dipped believe it or not. Only, if you’re going to treat it as an Italian word (which is what you’re doing there), in Italian they don’t end it with that “eye/ai”, it’s “ee”. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012/35 "2013-04-21T23:46:37Z")
BRAHK-u-lee. Definitely 3 syllables. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broccoli-pronunciation/518012.md?page=1)