# How do you pronounce "Asterisk"?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 5, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882 "2024-04-05T16:18:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/21 "2024-04-05T19:45:13Z")
I can’t do it deliberately either. I just try to say “asterisk,” and too many "sk"s come out.
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### Author:  [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/22 "2024-04-05T19:47:53Z")
A natural, unrehearsed pronunciation from me comes out “aster-rick”. 🤷♂️ Accordingly, I voted “Other”.
In deliberate, careful speech: “aster-risk”.
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### Author:  [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/23 "2024-04-05T20:04:20Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Hyphen → Dash
That’s a good one. I often have to take calls with shaky audio quality and I’ve been using hyphen instead of dash for a while. I occasionally have to refer to colon (🙂 and I wish there was a similar alternative. “That’s A colon Seven, repeating, Alpha O’Clock Seven,” just doesn’t work right.
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### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/24 "2024-04-05T20:06:33Z")
It’s my ass to risk when I say asterisk.
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### Author:  [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/25 "2024-04-05T20:06:36Z")
This I get completely because I always catch myself picturing Asterix and then carefully pronouncing asterisk to avoid the confusion as lots of Americans don’t have a clue who Asterix is.
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### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/26 "2024-04-05T20:07:59Z")
Just don’t confuse ‘Obelix’ and ‘Odalisque’.
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### Author:  [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/27 "2024-04-05T23:15:14Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> I had to learn and memorize any number of symbolic coding ‘phrases’ that used punctuation marks, and then communicate them verbally often too. Asterick → Star, Exlamation Point-\> Bang, Number Sign (Pound Sign, Hash) → Pound, Hyphen → Dash, tried to keep them short except oddly I ended up with Carat → Up Arrow. Outside of coding I do stick to the formal names though.
In my mathematical speciality, \*&^#@!?~ (all used as symbols) are often pronounced star, and, hat, double-cross,at,bang (or shriek), whimper, twiddle.
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### Author:  [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/28 "2024-04-05T23:45:17Z")
ASS-tə-rick
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/29 "2024-04-05T23:48:45Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#):
>
> whimper, twiddle.
? → Hook
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### Author:  [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/30 "2024-04-06T00:13:31Z")
As my old high school Latin teach told us, there is a “risk” in pronouncing and spelling _asterisk_.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2024, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/31 "2024-04-06T01:41:27Z")
If the B mt, put :
If the B . putting :
Don’t put : over a - der.
You’d be an \* it.
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### Author:  [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/32 "2024-04-06T02:01:56Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Number Sign (Pound Sign, Hash) → Pound, Hyphen → Dash
Ha,
The “#” sign is an octothorpe; and do you mean an “n-dash” or a “m-dash”?
Cite: I have some very nerdy print type designing friends.
A typical question asked in a social situation with them, in a bar or restaurant is “what is that font” and they usually get it right quite fast. I, being on web (backend) strickly use Fira-code for coding, I love the ligatures.
ETA, both Asterisk and Asterix in my colonial British accent sound very similar. I rely on context to make it clear if I am talking about a little star, or a little Gaul.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2024, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/33 "2024-04-06T02:20:53Z")
I did what you said in the OP, and what came out was either asterist or asteris’ with the S cut off where the K should be. I’m still thinking the K, so I’ll call it the latter.
If I say asterisks, then I do sometimes say asterix. But usually I get out the k and the sk, so it would be Asterisx.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2024, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/34 "2024-04-06T13:32:40Z")
“I regret that I have but one \* for my country.” -Nathan Hale?
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2024, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/35 "2024-04-06T14:48:40Z")
Obelix?
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2024, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/36 "2024-04-06T15:07:31Z")
Nevermind.
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### Author:  [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2024, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-asterisk/999882/37 "2024-04-07T01:55:45Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#):
>
> “I regret that I have but one \* for my country.” -Nathan Hale?
I remember that quote from some book. They also advertised getting rid of ugly cockroaches forever, by selling sequins and glue.
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