# How do YOU pronounce "coyote"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 5, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406 "2010-05-05T14:38:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/41 "2010-05-05T17:38:20Z")
Northern Oregon. Definately ki-oat. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/42 "2010-05-05T17:39:06Z")
In Spanish, coyote. In English, apparently it’s something like kayoht or kayohte, but I’ve only heard it pronounced by people from areas where coyotes could only be found in the zoo. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/43 "2010-05-05T17:48:36Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > In Spanish, coyote. In English, apparently it’s something like kayoht or kayohte, but I’ve only heard it pronounced by people from areas where coyotes could only be found in the zoo. There are places where the little bastards don’t run free? 3 syllables. Kai-YO-dy ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/44 "2010-05-05T18:04:57Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > There are places where the little bastards don’t run free? > > 3 syllables. Kai-YO-dy I say it in 3 syllables, and [there are wild coyotes here](http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/23289210/detail.html). ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/45 "2010-05-05T18:11:21Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > 3 syllables. Kai-YO-dy Same here. Californian. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/46 "2010-05-05T18:27:19Z")
2 syllables for me, and that’s the predominant pronunciation in these parts (western Canada). Not that anyone would look at you askance if you tagged an -ee on the end of it. And there are plenty of coyotes in the area, as well. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/47 "2010-05-05T19:35:14Z")
It was only the 3-syllable version for me for the longest time. Ryhmes with “Wiley” of course. But then, I noticed some of my rural western US relatives started using the short version. Even the old, old guys. People who have actually had to shoot coyotes to protect their calves. Weird. I suspect it’s something to do with deliberately trying to sound more 'Merican than Mexican. And now that’s how Mrs. FtG pronounces it. Ugh. (She sees them when she’s out walking in the early am in the neighborhood. I only hear them. Nobody can let their cats or small dogs out anymore.) Wiley Kai-yote? Puhleeze. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/48 "2010-05-05T19:40:44Z")
Texan - I hear it said (and say it myself) about 50/50 between ki-YO-tee and ki-YOAT. I concur that a smuggler of illegal immigrants is said with the spanish pronunciation, coy-YO-teh. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/49 "2010-05-05T19:54:37Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I think the two syllable pronunciation was more common in the past. When I was a kid growing up in the 50s, I recall hearing it that way often in Westerns and cartoons. It’s possible that as Spanish has become more widespread and common in the US, the original Spanish three-syllable pronunciation has become the norm. This sounds like the most reasonable explanation. I use “kai-yo-tay” except when I’m talking to my family who lives in Pittsburgh. They’re all very fascinated by Arizona and I use “kai-yoat” when talking with them. Makes me seem more impressive to them. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![may\_be\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@may\_be\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/may_be_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/50 "2010-05-05T19:56:38Z")
We say KI-OAT here, 2 syllables. “Hey Cole, we still gonna go coyote huntin’ tonight?” Yeah, we’re rednecks. Indiana. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/51 "2010-05-05T19:56:57Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > Oh dear, i think I’ve been pronouncing it wrong all my life! Not that it’s a word I use that often… > > I say coy - oh - tee. Me too, and that’s the only pronunciation I’ve ever heard in the UK. Actually I think it’s more like “coy - YO - tee”. Definitely not “Kai” for the first syllable, though. I just looked it up in my dictionary (Collins) and it gave three alternatives, in IPA: \*\*'kɔɪəʊt kɔɪ’əʊt kɔɪ’əʊtɪ\*\* In other words, COY-oat, coy-OAT or coy-OATy. Among native British speakers, I’ve only ever heard the third. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/52 "2010-05-05T20:07:24Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > There are places where the little bastards don’t run free? \*\* Nava \*\*is in Spain. They’re not commonly found roaming the streets there. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/53 "2010-05-05T20:33:35Z")
Ky-OH-tee. For some reason I associate the other pronunciation with less-than-literate people. ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/54 "2010-05-05T20:34:03Z")
I’m British and I pronounce it /kaɪ’əʊ.ti/ - I assume that this pronunciation came from Warner Brothers, because Wile E is the only coyote I’ve ever heard of. To be honest, it didn’t even occur to me until now that it was a real animal… ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/55 "2010-05-05T20:36:17Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > To be honest, it didn’t even occur to me until now that it was a real animal… Really? :eek: ---
**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:** [May 5, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/56 "2010-05-05T20:45:45Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > I’m British and I pronounce it /kaɪ’əʊ.ti/ - I assume that this pronunciation came from Warner Brothers, because Wile E is the only coyote I’ve ever heard of. To be honest, it didn’t even occur to me until now that it was a real animal… Perhaps you thought they were mangling Wile E. Kiyoshi? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/57 "2010-05-05T21:11:16Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > To be honest, it didn’t even occur to me until now that it was a real animal… Oh, [they’re real alright](http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/29/canada.singer.killed/index.html). Funny they should be interbreeding with wolves though. I was under the impression that wolves generally regarded them as food. But you can get bobcat/housecat mixes so I guess human’s aren’t the only species that “plays with its food” from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/58 "2010-05-05T21:16:58Z")
kai-YO-tee And if that’s wrong, then fuck everything. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/59 "2010-05-05T21:18:08Z")
Missed the edit…[Northeastern Coywolves](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote#Attacks_on_humans) ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406/60 "2010-05-05T21:53:27Z")
In English: kaI ot (accent on the 1st syllable) En Español: kɔI o te (accent on the middle syllable) In neither one or anywhere else legitimately, AFAIK: kaI o ti [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-coyote/538406.md?page=4)