# How do YOU pronounce the word "cache" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383 "2013-10-04T18:48:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/21 "2013-10-05T00:27:55Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > My boss says “catch”. But then, he’s a lawyer. The way I say it is sort of halfway between cash and catch. The t is there, but barely. I’m fully aware I should just be saying cash, but it just doesn’t turn out that way. Better than saying ca-shay at least. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/22 "2013-10-05T00:41:04Z")
**Moderator Action** This is turning into more of a poll than a factual question. Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/23 "2013-10-05T01:06:22Z")
I’ve dealt with the “temporary storage” version of cache profressionally in one way or another for almost 18 years. I’ve never…ever…heard anyone at work pronounce it with two syllables. Even the vendors I buy the chips from pronounce it “cash.” ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/24 "2013-10-05T01:15:03Z")
I’ve heard it about equally pronounced “cash” and “caysh.” Neither one raises an eyebrow for me. “Cash-ay” would be right out, though. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/25 "2013-10-05T01:18:31Z")
Caysh. At least that was the way it was pronounced in Anchorage 35 years ago, which is where I learned the word. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/26 "2013-10-05T01:37:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > That or they’re thinking of forte. The primary recommended pronunciation for forte is “fort,” although it is often pronounced “for-tay” and that is considered acceptable. “Cache” is pronounced like “cash” (at least in the U.S.). “Cashay” is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/27 "2013-10-05T01:56:57Z")
[Merriam-Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cache) gives the pronunciation of cache (in American English) as “cash” ('kash). Also [here:](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-07-06/features/ct-tribu-words-work-cache-20110706_1_cache-american-heritage-dictionaries-loot) > [@](#): > > So how do you pronounce it? Listening to media coverage of the aforementioned news stories earlier this week, we heard ka-shay (like cachet); kash (like cash money); and kay-sh (like, well, not like anything we can think of, to be honest. Like if you put a “sh” at the end of case, we suppose). > > The variety of pronunciations is understandable, considering cache and cachet are Nos. 9 and 10 in “100 Words Almost Everyone Mixes Up or Mangles” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), a handy little book from the editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. > > “It is properly pronounced like the word cash,” according to “100 Words.” “The word is sometimes pronounced with two syllables (as ka-shay), but this pronunciation is not considered standard and may be viewed as a mistake by people who know French.” ---
**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:** [October 5, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/28 "2013-10-05T02:56:52Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:26, topic:670383”] The primary recommended pronunciation for forte is “fort,” although it is often pronounced “for-tay” and that is considered acceptable. “Cache” is pronounced like “cash” (at least in the U.S.). “Cashay” is wrong. [/QUOTE] I’m aware of this. That was my point. Forte has an acceptable second pronunciation. Somebody reading the word cache with its similar structure might imagine incorrectly that it also has a second pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/29 "2013-10-05T03:30:06Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > In IT in Australia it is kaysh. First time I heard this, I just assumed the speaker didn’t know how to pronounce cache. But having heard it subsequently, I realised it’s a “thing”. I don’t know how it happened, they’re the same word. ---
**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:** [October 5, 2013, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/30 "2013-10-05T05:49:27Z")
It’s pronounced like “cash,” of course. This reminds me of the midget freedom fighter from Prague. Hunted by the Nazis, he was forced to prevail upon a local banker to hide him. Fortunately, the banker was able to cache a small Czech. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/31 "2013-10-05T06:15:52Z")
Hmm… around here I almost always hear it as “cash.” I _think_ I may have heard the kae-shay pronunciation, but it’s pretty much exclusively been “cash.” Now “forte” being “for-tay” is another story. I don’t know anyone (including myself) who pronounces it the “correct” way, with one syllable. I know the pronunciation and have for many many years, but can’t bring myself to use it as it will not be understood most of the time, which sort of defeats the point of language and pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/32 "2013-10-05T07:10:05Z")
I pronounce it “gif.” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/33 "2013-10-05T07:49:56Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I pronounce it “gif.” Except in San Francisco, where it’s pronounced “gough”. (Except that nobody agrees on how to pronounce that.) For the San-Francisco-geographically-unaware: Gough is the name of a major thoroughfare. Seems that every few years or so, a widely public controversy re-arises, zombie-like, although it’s been long settled and put to bed, over how to pronounce this.It’s pronounced “Guff”, I think, or possibly “Goff”. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/34 "2013-10-05T09:51:02Z")
Kaysh. Along with dah-tah (data) and misCHEEvious and cassel (castle), it gives my other half the heebie-jeebies when I say it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/35 "2013-10-05T10:29:56Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Am I the only one who says it with a long A sound? “Caysh”? I mean it technically has a magic e which should make the preceding vowel long, right? This how I pronounce it too. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/36 "2013-10-05T14:14:11Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > cassel (castle), How else is “castle” pronounced? I’m looking at the dictionaries online, and the only variations seem to be the initial vowel (a broad “ah” vs an “ae”.) ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/37 "2013-10-05T16:05:26Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > How else is “castle” pronounced? Ca-still, obviously. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dusty\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@Dusty\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty_Rose)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/38 "2013-10-05T16:23:51Z")
I was corrected from calling it “cash-ay” to “cash.” Also, apparently “Linux” is a short-I not long. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/39 "2013-10-05T16:27:12Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > That or they’re thinking of forte. LOL. Which should be pronounced “fort”, but “fortay” is acceptable and far more common, lately. I pronounce it correctly, “cash”, according to most dictionaries, especially older ones. If anyone can cite an American dictionary that allows “cachay” I’d like to see it. > [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > In IT in Australia it is kaysh. > > cache > > ``` > noun 1. /kæʃ/ (say kash) a store of provisions, treasure, etc., especially one hidden in the ground. > 2. /kæʃ/ (say kash) a store of food collected by some animals for the winter. > 3. /kæʃ/ (say kash) a hiding place, especially one in the ground, for such provisions, treasure, etc. > 4. /keɪʃ/ (say kaysh) → cache memory. > –verb (t) (cached, caching) 5. /kæʃ/ (say kash) to put in a cache; conceal; hide. > 6. /keɪʃ/ (say kaysh) Computers to put into cache memory: this information is cached to increase speed. > [French, from cacher hide] > > ``` > > [http://www.macquariedictionary.com.au](http://www.macquariedictionary.com.au) Well, it’s not unusual that computer types mispronounce things and it becomes common. Evidently that’s specific to Down Under; in 35 years of work as a software engineer, I’ve never heard it pronounced that way. Furthermore, it’s silly for one profession to use a word and pronounce it differently than the word in common usage. The computer term “cache” comes directly from the common meaning of the term “cache” since that’s exactly what it means: a local stash that’s quicker to get at than the bulk storage (a meaning which isn’t quite captured in that dictionary cite, but is definitely part of the meaning. I bet OED clarifies that.) Why do American doctors pronounce “orthogonal” wrong? I don’t know, but they do, and pity the fool who tries to correct them. In any case, every time I hear “cache” being used by military, such as on TV in the news, they say “cachay”. No doubt it’ll soon be added to dictionaries, compounding the confusion that is English. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383/40 "2013-10-05T16:33:06Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > Ca-still, obviously. 🙂 I assume that was implied, but I’ve never heard anyone ever say it as such, nor can I find a dictionary that even lists it as a pronunciation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-cache/670383.md?page=3)