# How do you pronounce RE:? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849 "2003-10-11T15:43:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/1 "2003-10-11T15:43:49Z")
In letters and emails, is “re” as in “re: topic” pronounced “ree” or as the letters R E? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/2 "2003-10-11T15:46:04Z")
rae I think ---
**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/3 "2003-10-11T15:59:32Z")
As one word. It’s from the Latin _in re_ ( ablative of _res_, a thing), meaning ‘in the matter’. If you want to pronounce it in the Latin way, it sounds like ‘ray’. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/4 "2003-10-11T16:25:54Z")
Thanks! I heard two different people call it R.E. this week. Good thing I didn’t get all uppity about it since I always thougt it was ‘ree’ as in regarding. ---
**Author:** ![nonsmokingmirror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6a8cbe/32.png) [@nonsmokingmirror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonsmokingmirror)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/5 "2003-10-11T21:52:23Z")
It’s only ‘ray’ if you’re going for Church Latin or Classical Latin - ‘ree’ is the normal English pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/6 "2003-10-11T22:27:02Z")
I checked a few dictionaries; it seems ree and ray are both acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/7 "2003-10-11T23:19:07Z")
Of course, it stands for regarding, so you could probably say that as well if you want to. I do sometimes, in the same way that I sometimes translate other Latin phrases when reading something to someone else, mostly when reading manuals or something when the other guy is under a car or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/8 "2003-10-12T01:33:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nonsmokingmirror \* > \*\*It’s only ‘ray’ if you’re going for Church Latin or Classical Latin - ‘ree’ is the normal English pronunciation. \*\* Well considering it is latin… ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/9 "2003-10-12T01:42:08Z")
I just say “regarding.” ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/10 "2003-10-12T03:40:46Z")
Dictionary.com says “ree” (well, more correctly, it says re, with a straight line over the “e”). ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/11 "2003-10-12T04:06:35Z")
I thought it meant “Reason” ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/12 "2003-10-12T05:29:56Z")
Nope, _re_ is not an abbreviation for “regarding” or “reason”. As **Jabba** said, _re_ is the Latin word for “in the matter of”. It’s the ablative form of the Latin word _res_, meaning “thing” or “piece of business”. And because _re_ is in the ablative form, the phrase _in re_ does seem to be redundant. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/13 "2003-10-12T05:42:38Z")
Oddly, when I come to think of it, I pronounce it both ways. If it’s on its own, like the “re:” line of a memo, I say “ree.” But in the phrase “in re,” sometimes seen in the captions of legal cases, I say “in ray.” Pointless additional FYI: Cases that are titled things like “In the matter of the Discipline of John Smith” are abbreviated “In re Smith.” In the U.S., that is. No idea elsewhere. And sometimes, in search and seizure/forfeiture cases, when the government doesn’t know the owner of the article, you get titles like “In the Matter of $100,000 Seized By The U.S. Treasury” or In the Matter of One Red Porche, VIN No. #######" ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/14 "2003-10-12T06:18:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Walloon \* > And because _re_ is in the ablative form, the phrase _in re_ does seem to be redundant. Why would that be? _In_ takes the ablative (or the accusative). ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/15 "2003-10-12T07:49:39Z")
Actually, to pronounce it in Latin you would need to roll the R. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Hand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mr.Hand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Hand)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/16 "2003-10-12T08:27:25Z")
**Jodi** , sometimes, in eminent domain cases, it’s even better; e.g., _United States v. Fifty Acres of Land_. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/17 "2003-10-12T08:51:14Z")
Ray and ree are _not_ Latin but English pronunciations. In Latin it would be re as in reh or regarding. Like the e is pronounced in Romance languages, not in English. ---
**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/18 "2003-10-12T10:30:38Z")
The e of _res_ is the long e. You can hear the pronunciation of the sound [here](http://www.utexas.edu/courses/cc303/sounds/). Also, **aryk29** is quite correct about the rolled r. So, it would be pronounced ‘rrray’. Having said that, I always pronounce it ‘ree’. The likely result of the Latin pronunciation is to have your friends think of you as a pretentious fop. ---
**Author:** ![smaft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@smaft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaft)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/19 "2003-10-12T18:05:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jabba \* > The likely result of the Latin pronunciation is to have your friends think of you as a pretentious fop. Hmm. You say that like it’s a bad thing… ---
**Author:** ![Jake4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc8723/32.png) [@Jake4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake4)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849/20 "2003-10-12T18:26:15Z")
In the matter of == regarding, does it not? Pretty close. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-re/206849.md?page=2)