# How do YOU pronounce GIF? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 24, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211 "2013-05-24T12:33:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/1 "2013-05-24T12:33:23Z")
You might be wrong. [http://msnvideo.msn.com/?channelindex=8&from=en-us\_msnhpvidmod#/video/fb7e0c45-1c2c-41a1-9995-f2960f9b9d05](http://msnvideo.msn.com/?channelindex=8&from=en-us_msnhpvidmod#/video/fb7e0c45-1c2c-41a1-9995-f2960f9b9d05) I admit that I was wrong, at least most of the time. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/2 "2013-05-24T12:40:27Z")
I pronounce the “gi” in GIF like the “gi” in giraffe or giant or gingerbread. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/3 "2013-05-24T12:48:19Z")
I don’t care if he created it; his method of pronunciation is stupid. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/4 "2013-05-24T12:48:59Z")
Hard G. Because the word graphics starts with a hard g. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/5 "2013-05-24T12:52:45Z")
Like Gift without the ‘t’. If I hear Jif I think peanut butter, not files. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/6 "2013-05-24T12:56:46Z")
G like in _ **G** _raphics, I like in _ **I** _nterchange, F like in _ **F** _ormat. If the dumb fucker wanted it pronounced different, he shouldn’t have made it an acronym for a word with a hard “G”. And he shouldn’t try and take on the OED about it, that’s just a losing fight. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/7 "2013-05-24T12:58:31Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > Hard G. Because the word graphics starts with a hard g. My sentiments exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Snifit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Snifit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snifit)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/8 "2013-05-24T12:59:50Z")
I don’t see how the fact that the G stands for graphics matters for how GIF is pronounced. Me, I’ve always used the j sound. Probably just because I like gin. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/9 "2013-05-24T12:59:53Z")
> [@sahirrnee](#): > > Like Gift without the ‘t’. > > If I hear Jif I think peanut butter, not files. This +1 ---
**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:** [May 24, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/10 "2013-05-24T13:07:28Z")
> [@Snifit](#): > > I don’t see how the fact that the G stands for graphics matters for how GIF is pronounced. Indeed. Do the same people pronounce the “e” in “laser” like the “e” in “emission”? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/11 "2013-05-24T13:12:21Z")
Choosey trend buckers choose Jif? ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/12 "2013-05-24T13:17:04Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I don’t care if he created it; his method of pronunciation is stupid. This. The fact that he created it does not change the fact that he is wrong about how to pronounce it. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/13 "2013-05-24T13:21:14Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Indeed. Do the same people pronounce the “e” in “laser” like the “e” in “emission”? You nitpicked on that but not on whether one pronounces “stimulated” with a “z” sound at the start? (Don’t spend time with hospital employees; you’d freak at how JCAHO is said aloud.\*) Pronunciation of acronyms tends to get mangled for the sake of simplicity, but it is not needed in this case, plus it directly goes against the pronunciation of the initial word for no apparent reason as well as sounding the same as a very common brand name. Or as I stated earlier, “stupid.” 😃 - “JAY-coh.” Long A, long o. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/14 "2013-05-24T13:22:48Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > (Don’t spend time with hospital employees; you’d freak at how JCAHO is spoken.) At least they’re not talking about violating hippoes. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/15 "2013-05-24T13:24:24Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > At least they’re not talking about violating hippoes. /headdesk I’m constantly amazed at how many people in this field get the number of A’s and P’s wrong in that acronym. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/16 "2013-05-24T13:24:27Z")
Compare to _gift_. Nobody would even be tempted to say _jift_. The reason I pronounce it as a hard g is that it’s an acronym, and with a hard g there is no ambiguity as to what I am saying. If you say it with a soft g then it might be GIF and then again it might be JIF. I guess if the guy invented it, he’s got a right to define how we say it, but I think the word belongs to the world now. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/17 "2013-05-24T13:27:47Z")
Correctly. ‘JIF’. ---
**Author:** ![Mathematics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@Mathematics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathematics)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/18 "2013-05-24T13:29:21Z")
I never know which one to say so I always say “animation” (or “photo” if it’s not animated) instead of GIF even though it’s not technically accurate. Weak, I know. I guess I come out more on the side of jif, though. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/19 "2013-05-24T13:35:00Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > The reason I pronounce it as a hard g is that it’s an acronym, and with a hard g there is no ambiguity as to what I am saying. If you say it with a soft g then it might be GIF and then again it might be JIF. I would love to hear an uncontrived example of such. Both pronunciations have a wide usage and are acceptable, just as some people say caRIBbean and some say cariBEEan. If you think one pronunciation is more correct than another, you are the only one who is wrong. And I use whichever pronunciation will piss off the person I’m talking to. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211/20 "2013-05-24T13:39:38Z")
“JIF”. That’s how I first heard them referred to back in the mid 90s and had never really considered otherwise until the last few years. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-gif/659211.md?page=2)