# How do you pronounce "GIF"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417 "2009-02-11T20:28:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/21 "2009-02-11T23:17:09Z")
gift - t ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/22 "2009-02-11T23:22:15Z")
gif=jiff beau=bow (as in “bow and arrow.” not “take a bow.”) ---
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/23 "2009-02-12T00:01:42Z")
I’m with the soft g camp. I’ve never actually heard it pronounced the other way. ---
**Author:** ![QuercusMax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/8baadc/32.png) [@QuercusMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuercusMax)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/24 "2009-02-12T00:11:43Z")
I thought GIF was pronounced “Pee Enn Jee”… Come on, who still uses GIFs? ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/25 "2009-02-12T00:30:05Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > It’s “jiff” because that’s how it looks like it should be pronounced. If that’s how it looks like it should be pronounced, then why doesn’t everybody pronounce it that way? To me it looks like it should have a hard G, like similar-looking words such as “gift”, “give”, “gill” and unlike similar-looking words like “gin” and “gist” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/26 "2009-02-12T00:52:57Z")
jiff. I don’t think the pronunciation of the letters of the words that make up the acronym need to correspond to the pronunciation of the acronym itself. If that were the case, we’d pronounce laser lah-zheer. And scuba would be scuh-bah. And so on. I’d be hard-pressed to find an acronym that _does_ match the initial sounds exactly. GIF is just more noticable because it’s the first letter. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/27 "2009-02-12T01:10:34Z")
I pronounce it ‘Pee En Jee’ OK, I pronounce it with a hard G. (Does anyone still use GIFs?) ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/28 "2009-02-12T01:15:47Z")
> [@Commander\_Keen](#): > > One of the great debates of our time: how do you pronounce the image format GIF ( **G** raphics **I** nterchange **F** ormat)? Is it G as in giraffe, or G as in gift? > > I’m on the giraffe/“jif”/soft g side, and present as support this webpage: [The GIF Pronunciation Page](http://www.olsenhome.com/gif/) hard G. The programmers and scientists I work with probably would catch on if I called it a brand of peanut butter, but no one I know would pronounce it that way. I have to say as mentioned up-thread: Doc Brown nailed gigawatt. I still use a hard G and am corrected about once a month by other time travelers. ---
**Author:** ![Commander\_Keen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Commander\_Keen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Keen)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/29 "2009-02-12T01:49:32Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > jiff. I don’t think the pronunciation of the letters of the words that make up the acronym need to correspond to the pronunciation of the acronym itself. If that were the case, we’d pronounce laser lah-zheer. And scuba would be scuh-bah. And so on. > > I’d be hard-pressed to find an acronym that _does_ match the initial sounds exactly. GIF is just more noticable because it’s the first letter. Exactly. I don’t have a problem with pronouncing it with a hard G, but the argument that it’s correct because “graphics” starts with a hard G makes no sense. Since when was the pronunciation of acronyms determined like this? It looks like the hard-G side is winning, but I for one will never throw in the towel… ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/30 "2009-02-12T04:19:32Z")
If someone said “jiff,” I would punch them. Well, not really, but IN MY MIND… Joe ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/31 "2009-02-12T04:26:32Z")
I still use gGIF’s, since I have a collection of them. And they’re pronounced gift -t. Besides, I didn’t think PNG files could be animated… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/32 "2009-02-12T04:31:33Z")
I’ve always heard it pronounced like jif. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/33 "2009-02-12T04:36:01Z")
Another vote for soft g for two reasons: 1. If you spell out the abbreviation, you say jee eye eff (see? soft G) 2. Only a newb uses the hard G; back in the day, nobody said it with a hard G. If anyone did, they’d be ridiculed incessantly. 3. I use JIF in my buckeyes. Why, yes, I am a choosy mom. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/34 "2009-02-12T04:40:31Z")
Gift, -t…never ever imagined it would be pronounced any other way. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/35 "2009-02-12T05:09:46Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > OK, I pronounce it with a hard G. (Does anyone still use GIFs?) For many a year, it’s been pronounced with a soft G. GIF files are wonderfully small for some graphics (limited colors). They look far better than JPGs for some applications. So why not use them? No, I didn’t say ALL graphics, but SOME graphics. You gotta know how they work to take advantage of them. Any artist who uses a JPG where a GIF would have been better doesn’t know the score and isn’t my kind of people. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/36 "2009-02-12T05:17:41Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > Like the peanut butter. You mean the peanut butter which is spelled JIFF? That’s just ridiculous. You’ve already got your J sound for J-Peg. You’re not taking GIF from us. No friggin’ way. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/37 "2009-02-12T05:35:38Z")
> [@Caveat\_lector\_1](#): > > I’m with the soft g camp. I’ve never actually heard it pronounced the other way. Huh. I work in email/web/graphic design, and I’ve never heard anyone (across 8+ years and multiple cities) pronounce it with a soft g. I pronounce it with a hard g because that’s how I’ve always heard it. > [@Mangetout](#): > > I pronounce it ‘Pee En Jee’ > > OK, I pronounce it with a hard G. (Does anyone still use GIFs?) Yeah, I do. I’m not even sure PNGs would render consistently, much less well, in email clients – they have worse standards compliance than web browsers do. (We still have to use tables for layouts, too, because Gmail especially eats CSS for lunch. I _heart_ Gmail in every other respect, but their compliance on this is _ **awful.** _ You know how web designers complain of having to write hacks into their code just to accommodate IE? It’s like that for email designers with Gmail – I have to write extra mark-up just for them.) ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/38 "2009-02-12T06:37:25Z")
hard G am I alone in pronouncing “PNG” like “ping”? …probably ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/39 "2009-02-12T06:45:05Z")
> [@PopeJewish](#): > > am I alone in pronouncing “PNG” like “ping”? > …probably Good call. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Commander\_Keen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Commander\_Keen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Keen)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417/40 "2009-02-12T07:01:09Z")
> [@PopeJewish](#): > > am I alone in pronouncing “PNG” like “ping”? > …probably [Not at all](http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/#history) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/485417.md?page=3)