# How do you pronounce Poincare? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 7, 2000, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928 "2000-01-07T01:58:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/1 "2000-01-07T01:58:00Z")
As in the scientist, Henri Poincare? (There’s supposed to be an accent mark over the “e” but I don’t know how to make that happen.) Is it Poyn-kehr or Pwon-car-ee or some other pronunciation. I can find biographies of the guy but I can’t find the pronunciation of his name. I’d hate to be demonstrating my erudition and call him “Poinker” or something instead of his real name. But mostly I want to know because every time I read his name I get distracted trying to find out how to say it in my head. A small crisis, admittedly, but I know you can help. * * * _My Child Is An Honour Student At Hogwarts_ ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/2 "2000-01-07T02:22:00Z")
Closest approximation would be pwoenn car hey. English Canadians are noted (wrightly or not) for often ending their sentences with “hey?”, the “h” being mute. Same would apply above. Hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![dlv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dlv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dlv)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/3 "2000-01-07T02:53:00Z")
Pwan (try to make it nasal) cah RAY ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/4 "2000-01-07T03:50:00Z")
Shar-Day ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/5 "2000-01-07T04:27:00Z")
I’ll second dlv. That is the proper French pronunciation. Oh, and revtim, I thought it was “Sha-Day”? 😉 * * * “Teaching without words and work without doing are understood by very few.” -Tao Te Ching ---
**Author:** ![NanoByte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@NanoByte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NanoByte)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/6 "2000-01-07T09:44:00Z")
Yes, dlv is right and the e is as in ‘eh’. You can make the ‘é’ by holding the [Alt] key down while pressing the ‘1’, ‘2’ and ‘3’ keys in sequence and then releasing the [Alt] key. If HTML is on, you can also make it with ‘&#233’ or ‘&eacute’. Ray ---
**Author:** ![NanoByte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@NanoByte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NanoByte)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/7 "2000-01-07T10:01:00Z")
Sorry, the last method should’ve been ‘é’. Ray ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/8 "2000-01-07T14:33:00Z")
Hmmm. Didn’t know we had other members whose mother tongue is French on board… I will admit that my “deconstruction” of the word was not optimal. As far as saying that dlv’s is the _correct_ French pronunciation, well let’s say that it’s a very close approximation (as was mine, BTW). And, to my recollection, it was (and is) pronounced Shar-day. ---
**Author:** ![mr\_john](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@mr\_john](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_john)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/9 "2000-01-07T19:11:00Z")
French pronunciation is not my forte. How often does his name come up in conversation? I guess that is all relative to your field of special interest.Maybe you should switch to chemistry. * * * “Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx ---
**Author:** ![dlv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dlv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dlv)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/10 "2000-01-07T19:17:00Z")
What I wrote was pretty much what you wrote except for the corrected syllable break - …cah-RAY vs. …car - HEY. * * * [Note: Opinions offensive to Christians may have been edited out by **TubaDiva**.] ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/11 "2000-01-07T19:33:00Z")
You’re all wrong. It’s pronounced “Sir Reginald Throatwarbler-Mangrove.” * * * “It’s my considered opinion you’re all a bunch of sissies!”–Paul’s Grandfather ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/12 "2000-01-07T19:47:00Z")
Thanks to one and all. I have never used the name in conversation but, as I noted, I read the name occasionally in physics and math texts. He is also mentioned frequently in _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_. Since one of the themes of _Zen_ (the book) is quality, I always felt a little troubled at my non-quality pronunciation. For the record, my mental pronunciation, prior to being enlightened by the Teeming Millions, was poyn-KAIR – close enough to Poinker to be dangerous. But now I will always say “Sir Reginald Throatwarbler-Mangrove” Thanks again. * * * _My Child Is An Honour Student At Hogwarts_ ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/13 "2000-01-07T20:29:00Z")
French is really a _weird_ language. To give you only one example of how…fanciful it can get, there was a French physicist by the name of Louis de Broglie. Sounds innocuous enough, until you have to pronounce it. Unsuspecting French (and English) speaking people would say: de Bro’glee. Heh, heh, heh: were it _that_ simple!! It’s pronounced de Breuil (take the word “broil”, eliminate the “l” and substitute the first two letters of the word “yes” and you’ll be close enough). Why? I haven’t got a clue! ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2000, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/14 "2000-01-08T16:24:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Why? I haven’t got a clue! What about the pronounceation of “Louis”? . ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2000, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/15 "2000-01-09T06:35:00Z")
Democritus, I stand corrected. A Sade FAQ at [http://members.aol.com/mariostanz/faq.html](http://members.aol.com/mariostanz/faq.html) says “shaw-day” (pronounced the same as what you said, I would think). ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2000, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-poincare/5928/16 "2000-01-09T01:21:00Z")
RM: What about it? It’s not pronounced Lewis but Lou-wee. That, at least, is pretty straightforward. Needless to say, the French don’t hold a candle to them Brits, Irish, Welsh, etc. when it comes to certain family names and names of localities 🙂