# Do you call it "soy" sauce or "soya" sauce? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2019, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166 "2019-12-20T23:45:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/1 "2019-12-20T23:45:06Z")
I’m referring of course to the dark coloured cooking and seasoning ingredient from China. How do you refer to this stuff? ---
**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:** [December 20, 2019, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/2 "2019-12-20T23:51:19Z")
Huh. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it as “soya” sauce in American English. I could be wrong, but I feel like it’s only ever been “soy.” I believe I’ve heard it in British English, but even there, looking at my British cooking videos, they all seem to say “soy” as well. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/3 "2019-12-21T00:00:09Z")
My wife says “soya” and I say “soy” so basically I’m looking for backup that I’m not crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/4 "2019-12-21T00:04:56Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Huh. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it as “soya” sauce in American English. Me neither, nor seen it that way on any product label. Wikipedia says that soy sauce is “also called soya sauce in British English.” (My browser’s spellchecker is underlining “soya” in red. That proves it’s not a word. ;)) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/5 "2019-12-21T00:05:36Z")
IME, ‘soya’ is a Canadian thing…might be general a Commonwealth thing, but I’ve never, that I remember, heard a Brit, Aussie, or Kiwi talk about the stuff, so I have no idea what they call it. I say soy, but most of my family says soya. (And I used to…I have no idea why I shifted to the American word.) Confused the heck of of an American friend when they were visiting. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/6 "2019-12-21T00:07:43Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > My wife says “soya” and I say “soy” so basically I’m looking for backup that I’m not crazy. I’d be curious to know where your wife is from. I’m with **Puly**. Never heard it refereed to as “soya”. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/7 "2019-12-21T00:18:42Z")
I remember seeing (and probably saying) “soya sauce” and “soya beans” when I was younger (e.g. 30+ years ago), but I think I almost always see (and say) “soy” nowadays. ---
**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:** [December 21, 2019, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/8 "2019-12-21T00:25:23Z")
I’ve never heard “soya” in any context. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/9 "2019-12-21T00:35:42Z")
Soy — but thanks to my father (on whom be peace), I’m more likely to refer to it as “bug juice.” ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/10 "2019-12-21T00:46:17Z")
Aussie here. No-one I know, of any ethnicity, says soya. Although after I posted that I vaguely recall my English mother calling it that when I was a child. But I wouldn’t bet my life on it. She was born well before WWII. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/11 "2019-12-21T01:02:44Z")
German here. Technically, I should have voted “other” but that was no option. So I voted “soya” because here it’s called “Sojasoße” or “Sojascauce”. But in English, I’ve only ever heard “soy” for the plant. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/12 "2019-12-21T01:18:14Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I remember seeing (and probably saying) “soya sauce” and “soya beans” when I was younger (e.g. 30+ years ago), but I think I almost always see (and say) “soy” nowadays. Yeah, way back the beans were often called soya, but I don’t recall ever hearing or seeing soya sauce. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/13 "2019-12-21T01:38:50Z")
I say soy sauce. However, I have heard two different pronunciations of “soy”. One rhymes with boy, and the other with showy. This was central Indiana. Does this occur elsewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/14 "2019-12-21T01:45:13Z")
In Northeast Indiana there’s a soybean crushing company called Central Soya. I’ve not heard soya used in any other context. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/15 "2019-12-21T01:50:26Z")
Only soy here. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/16 "2019-12-21T01:54:48Z")
I never heard it as anything but soy, soya is new to me. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/17 "2019-12-21T02:02:08Z")
There’s actually a radio show clip promo (you know the sort - where they play some of the bits they like best from the last few weeks’ shows) on one of my local stations right now where one host (vegetarian) is mocking the hell out of her colleague for saying ‘soya’ as in ‘soya milk’ The funny thing is he’s actually really not - it’s just a tiny little intrusive schwa popping in between the y and the m without his realising. Anyway, yeah, soy. I do recall ‘soya’ being a thing, back when soy was new and weird. It’s listed in my memory banks as way old-fashioned, along with ‘avocado pear’ and ‘chinese gooseberry’ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/18 "2019-12-21T02:06:24Z")
Had a Hawaiian girlfriend that pronounced it '_So-jew’_. But Hawaii is another thread all its own… ---
**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:** [December 21, 2019, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/19 "2019-12-21T02:21:14Z")
Shoyu. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166/20 "2019-12-21T02:49:20Z")
Shoyu (the proper Japanese name) for the Japanese version, dark or light). Soy sauce for the dark and light Chinese versions. Like the others, never heard either pronounced soya. Also, never just soy, which in my mind is meaningless. Soy-what? Sauce, beans, milk, power, protein? When my brother went to Army training in 1970, at his first meal he asked if they had shoyu, and he said the other guys said: “Show you want?”. They also believed him when he and his Hawaii buddies told them pineapples grew on trees. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-it-soy-sauce-or-soya-sauce/845166.md?page=2)