# Correct Pronounciation of "Qatar." **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 10, 2001, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494 "2001-10-10T03:03:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494/1 "2001-10-10T03:03:27Z")
Regarding the country Qatar, I have heard the following pronounciations on television: kuh-TAR, Cutter, Gutter, and guh-TAR. So, what the dilly? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494/2 "2001-10-10T03:09:28Z")
As it’s an Arabic word, I’d be surprised if the correct pronunciation exists in English. ---
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494/3 "2001-10-10T03:09:53Z")
Well, on NPR, it’s along the lines of cutter, but with more of a short “a,” sort of in between “cut” and “cat.” And if that’s how they do it on NPR… ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494/4 "2001-10-10T03:14:39Z")
From a friend stationed in the area: “gutter” I suspect many (English-speaking) people mispronounce the name due to the negative connotations of the term in English. I heard a newscaster the other night say something to the effect of: “Here in [gutter], or [ka-tar] as some pronounce it…” The newscaster positively sounded apologetic. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494/5 "2001-10-10T03:14:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by johnson \* > \*\*Well, on NPR, it’s along the lines of cutter, but with more of a short “a,” sort of in between “cut” and “cat.” And if that’s how they do it on NPR… \*\* **johnson** gots it right. It sounds practically the same as “cutter” (Mid-American pronunciation that is, with the final r pronounced). Make sure the accent goes on the first syllable. Far too many people on the radio say it ca-TARRH, that’s a bad case of runny nose. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494/6 "2001-10-10T03:41:52Z")
A useful resource for this and other international pronunciation issues is the [Voice of America pronunciation guide](http://www.voa.gov/pronunciations/). Their pronunciation sounds rather like COT-ter. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494/7 "2001-10-10T04:12:52Z")
What kind of wacky transliteration came up with Qatar anyway? Isn’t the goal to come up with something that’s pronounceable in the other language? What does a lone Q at the beginning of a sentence even sound like? Anyways, if you want to hear it pronounced, Merriam Webster has a [definition with audio](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=Qatar). (They vote for the k-sound) ---
**Author:** ![pezwookiee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@pezwookiee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezwookiee)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494/8 "2001-10-10T04:20:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dqa \* > \*\*A useful resource for this and other international pronunciation issues is the [Voice of America pronunciation guide](http://www.voa.gov/pronunciations/). Their pronunciation sounds rather like COT-ter. \*\* All I can think of now is the new mid-season replacement sitcom: _Welcome Back, Qatar._ ---
**Author:** ![wooba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wooba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wooba)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494/9 "2001-10-10T05:28:46Z")
I used to live in the Middle East and I’ve always known it to be pronounced Ka-Tar. I’m English BTW, so that might mean something… ---
**Author:** ![puk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ea5d25/32.png) [@puk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puk)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494/10 "2001-10-10T10:00:21Z")
A friend of mine lived there. He pronounces it Ka-Tar or Kah-Tar both a’s are short (as in car) and the emphasis is on Tar. Hope it helps. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494/11 "2001-10-10T11:07:41Z")
I always thought the “Q” represented a sound that was something like a “k” pronounced further back in the mouth, about as far back as a “g,” but unlike the “g” it is unvoiced. Anyhow, that’s what I thought, hence that’s the reason you get: Qadafi Gadafi Kadafi And that’s why you may hear “Qatar” as “Gutter” or “Kutter.” “Q” represents a sound which is not a “g” or a “k,” but given the limitations of the English language, I would say the closest equivalent is the “k” since, like the “q”, it is unvoiced. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-pronounciation-of-qatar/86494/12 "2001-10-10T11:29:51Z")
**pulykamell** gots it right. Changing the /q/ to a /g/ is some kind of dialectal pronunciation. Imagine instructing a visiting Arabian journalist to say “Californ-eye-ay” or “Illinoize”.