# Do you call it "Autumn" or "Fall" (and what's it called in non-English languages?) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 11, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963 "2010-08-11T18:38:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/1 "2010-08-11T18:38:03Z")
What do you call the season that’s coming up–Autumn or Fall? Why does it have two names anyway? Can’t it just be autumn, so the names of all the seasons have six letter? And do non-English speaking countries have this dilemma? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/2 "2010-08-11T19:14:15Z")
I voted “either”. It depends on how I am using the word - in school terms, it is generally called “Fall Term”, but I know back home in Illinois, people would say they are going to the parks to see the trees turning color in “Autumn”. In Vegas we only have hot, and less hot. The Four Seasons is only a hotel near Mandalay Bay. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/3 "2010-08-11T19:20:58Z")
Either. But I use fall in writing more often because it’s easier to spell. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/4 "2010-08-11T19:21:20Z")
I said either, but it’s more like 1/3 Autumn and 2/3 Fall. Syllable count I guess. Autumn is more poetic. Fall is more common language. Other than that, interchangeable for me. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/5 "2010-08-11T19:34:50Z")
Fall, it’s shorter… and the “mn” gives me the creeps. We call it Syksy (no other words for it) in Finnish… in which no word can end with a double consonant, hence my problem with the mn. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/6 "2010-08-11T19:40:08Z")
Depends who I’m talking to. If its an American friend/colleague/giving a public talk, “fall”, anybody else gets “autumn”. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/7 "2010-08-11T20:09:37Z")
Fall, for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/8 "2010-08-11T21:00:22Z")
I call it fall or as we say here, “the beginning of hell.” If I were writing a high brow novel, I’d use Autumn. It has not happened yet though. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/9 "2010-08-11T21:22:35Z")
> [@GHO57](#): > > Fall, it’s shorter… and the “mn” gives me the creeps. > > We call it Syksy (no other words for it) in Finnish… in which no word can end with a double consonant, hence my problem with the mn. However, the “n” is silent in “autumn”, just as it is in “hymn”. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/10 "2010-08-12T00:31:02Z")
I only use Autumn, but have nothing against Fall any more than I do against Herbst. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Fall, for the most part. Good username/thread combo. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/11 "2010-08-12T00:34:33Z")
I say fall. I think of autumn as more British English or poetic usage. The German for the season between summer and winter is ‘Herbst.’ ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/12 "2010-08-12T01:30:22Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > And do non-English speaking countries have this dilemma? Well, in Bulgarian, they don’t have this issue with this particular word (fall is “essen”), but sure, there are multiple words for the same things. In most cases, there will be a standard Bulgarian word, and then a synonymous Turkish word. Which one you use depends on a number of factors. For instance, the word I would use for “eggplant” (which is, an aside, something else where there’s an America/British divide) is “patladzhan”, which is actually a Turkish word. In other parts of Bulgaria, they’re called “sin domat”. Which literally means “blue tomato”. wtf no, that’s just crazy. But it is actual Bulgarian. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/13 "2010-08-12T02:27:31Z")
I say Fall, but Autumn is perfectly cromulent. In Japanese, it’s typically 秋 (aki) ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/14 "2010-08-12T02:43:32Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > > [@GHO57](#): > > > > Fall, it’s shorter… and the “mn” gives me the creeps. > > > > We call it Syksy (no other words for it) in Finnish… in which no word can end with a double consonant, hence my problem with the mn. > > However, the “n” is silent in “autumn”, just as it is in “hymn”. Yes, but I \*\*know \*\*it’s there. Sharks are silent… so is radiation poisoning… as is the thing under your bed. Silent = bad. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/15 "2010-08-12T02:58:11Z")
I use “fall” usually but “autumn” for certain phrases. In Spanish, it’s “otoño.” ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/16 "2010-08-12T04:54:14Z")
I usually say Autumn, but have used Fall from time to time. In Japanese it is usually Aki (Hiragana: あき), but can also be Shuu (Hiragana: しゅう) depending on usage. The kanji for both Aki and Shuu is 秋. Increasingly, younger Japanese use オータム, pronounced Ohtamu, literally Autumn. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/17 "2010-08-12T04:59:34Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Can’t it just be autumn, so the names of all the seasons have six letters? :eek: Mind. Blown. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/18 "2010-08-12T05:15:20Z")
In French it’s l’automne. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/19 "2010-08-12T05:24:10Z")
I use both, although “fall” is probably my usual choice. As I now live in Jakarta and work with lots of Australians, but still maintain an American mentality about spring-summer-fall-winter, seasonal references are a problem for me. I do a lot of writing for work where I would like to make suitably vague references about time frame. For example we may know that something will happen around September, but I don’t want to be too specific because delays are possible. So, without thinking I will write, “The workshop is expected to be held this fall.” Of course, I always have to rewrite such sentences. There isn’t a commonly used term for “fall” in Indonesian, for obvious reasons - people think in terms of “musim hujan” (wet season), “musim panen” (harvest season) and the like. However, there are obviously cases when the English concept of “fall” must be translated - in that case, it is written as “musim gugur.” While “gugur” has several closely related meanings, the first one people think of is “miscarriage.” If you are from a place where the trees stay green year-round, that is probably as good an image as any for leaves turning brown and dropping off the branches. ---
**Author:** ![Molotok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Molotok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molotok)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963/20 "2010-08-12T05:28:02Z")
In Russian: осень (OH-seen). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-autumn-or-fall-and-whats-it-called-in-non-english-languages/549963.md?page=2)