# How do you pronounce kilometer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175 "2008-02-26T02:00:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/1 "2008-02-26T02:00:02Z")
For years in my mind I’ve pronounced it kill-o-meter, but I heard that the proper pronounciation was kil-om-eter. Recently though I’ve seen two different programs were they pronounced it kill-o-meter. What’s the correct way to pronounce it? Buy the new Freddy Kruger Kill-o-meter ™. It’ll hellp you keep track of how many people you kill! ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/2 "2008-02-26T02:11:38Z")
Klick? ---
**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:** [February 26, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/3 "2008-02-26T02:17:58Z")
[QUOTE=furryman] For years in my mind I’ve pronounced it kill-o-meter, but I heard that the proper pronounciation was kil-om-eter. Recently though I’ve seen two different programs were they pronounced it kill-o-meter. What’s the correct way to pronounce it? [/QUOTE] Both pronunciations are correct. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/4 "2008-02-26T02:21:05Z")
I usually pronouce it kih-LAW-meh-ter, as per the OP’s second pronounciation. However, that’s a bad habit. The original, correct and consistent pronounciation is “KILL-oh-meet-er,” consistent with the manner in which all other like metric units of measurement are pronounced - CENT-ih-meet-er, MILL-ill-ee-ter, and so on. I try to remind myself to say “KILL-oh-meet-er” but I’m frequently guilty of the wrong pronounciation. I also keep pronouncing “during” as if it starts with a J, another nasty Canadian habit. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/5 "2008-02-26T02:29:52Z")
Hmm, I say KEE-loh-meter, well it’s ambiguous where I place the l sound (well really keelo in general when referring to kilo-) Is that just a difference in accent or am I way off here? ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/6 "2008-02-26T02:34:19Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] I also keep pronouncing “during” as if it starts with a J, another nasty Canadian habit. [/QUOTE] Huh? You say “juring” rather than “during”? Really? I don’t know anyone who does that. To the OP, I might say pronounce either way, though I do agree with \*\*RickJay’s \*\* logic on pronouncing kill-o-metre. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/7 "2008-02-26T02:41:38Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] Huh? You say “juring” rather than “during”? Really? I don’t know anyone who does that. [/quote] I say that too. The first syllable of ‘during’ sounds like that of ‘jury’. It’s the d +yu (palatilised ‘u’) sound smushed together. Ironically, Canadian English has tended to lose the palatilised ‘u’ sound in words like ‘tune’ and the pronuncuation of ‘during’ is a but of an anomaly. > [@PastAllReason](#): > > To the OP, I might say pronounce either way, though I do agree with \*\*RickJay’s \*\* logic on pronouncing kill-o-metre. I say ‘KILL-oh-meedur’. 🙂 We used to say ‘kil-OMM-ih-durr’ but it was drilled into us at school that the prefix in kilometre was to be pronounced the same way as that in kilolitre, kilowatt, etc. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/8 "2008-02-26T02:52:16Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] I say that too. The first syllable of ‘during’ sounds like that of ‘jury’. It’s the d +yu (palatilised ‘u’) sound smushed together. Ironically, Canadian English has tended to lose the palatilised ‘u’ sound in words like ‘tune’ and the pronuncuation of ‘during’ is a but of an anomaly. [/QUOTE] You Ontarians are weird. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/9 "2008-02-26T03:02:36Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] I also keep pronouncing “during” as if it starts with a J, another nasty Canadian habit. [/QUOTE] How else would you pronounce it? Dur-ring? Oh. Yeah, I guess that does work. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/10 "2008-02-26T03:10:18Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] I usually pronouce it kih-LAW-meh-ter, as per the OP’s second pronounciation. [/QUOTE] Me, too, ever since I started hanging around Brits and Aussies. Seems to be their pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/11 "2008-02-26T03:19:29Z")
Standard American pronunciation is kill-OM-eter or maybe kill-AH-meter, with the first “e” in meter being short, or even schwa. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/12 "2008-02-26T04:07:20Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] You Ontarians are weird. That is all. [/QUOTE] And yet the Americans keep hiring [Ontarians](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morley_Safer) as [news](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Jennings) [broadcasters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Roberts_%28television_reporter%29). Go figure. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/13 "2008-02-26T04:08:22Z")
“Half Mile” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/14 "2008-02-26T04:19:56Z")
One more for RickJay’s pronunciations. I never noticed ‘juring’ until now but I definitely do it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/15 "2008-02-26T04:33:01Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] “Half Mile” 😃 [/QUOTE] “0.62 mile” ---
**Author:** ![hekk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@hekk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hekk)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/16 "2008-02-26T04:39:04Z")
I pronounce it “Kil-lah-mehder” This is probably very, very wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/17 "2008-02-26T04:40:22Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] “0.62 mile” [/QUOTE] As we jokingly say in our Chinese class: 都可以 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/18 "2008-02-26T05:05:21Z")
[QUOTE=hekk] I pronounce it “Kil-lah-mehder” This is probably very, very wrong. [/QUOTE] I see you live in Milwaukee, that’s near a rather dense area of German and Dutch people isn’t it? At least Sheboygan which isn’t far from there where I lived as a kid had a huge Dutch population. That could explain it because saying it in my head it sounds a lot like that sort of accent. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/19 "2008-02-26T05:54:56Z")
Oddly, in the Thousand Islands area the American side says “kih-LAWM-ih-tur” while the Canadian side prefers “KILL-o-_mee_-tur” ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175/20 "2008-02-26T06:22:20Z")
[QUOTE=furryman] For years in my mind I’ve pronounced it kill-o-meter, but I heard that the proper pronounciation was kil-om-eter. Recently though I’ve seen two different programs were they pronounced it kill-o-meter. What’s the correct way to pronounce it? Buy the new Freddy Kruger Kill-o-meter ™. It’ll hellp you keep track of how many people you kill! [/QUOTE] …depends entirely on where you are from. I’m from the US, I pronounce it KEEL-ohm-it-tor [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-kilometer/439175.md?page=2)