# How do you pronounce the word "idea"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 2, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539 "2021-01-02T20:32:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/1 "2021-01-02T20:32:41Z")
In the equivalent of 9th grade ESL, I was told by the teacher that the word “idea” is pronounced “I-Dee” and that “I-Dee-A” is giving oneself airs. _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/1))_ ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/2 "2021-01-02T20:34:29Z")
I pronounce it as “I-Dee-A”. You can hear the final A sound when I say it. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/3 "2021-01-02T20:40:03Z")
What you were told was incorrect. It’s ī-dē′ə. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/4 "2021-01-02T20:41:18Z")
I pronounce it “I-dee-uh”, with a schwa rather than an enunciated “a” at the end. But the only way I could even see that it might be pronounced vaguely like “i-dee” is when it is followed by a word that begins with a vowel, because, for instance, in the phrase “i have no i-dee-uh uh-bout [about] what I need to do”, the two “uhs” could sort of blend in together. But not every speaker would do this every time. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/5 "2021-01-02T20:45:39Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever heard it pronounced “I-dee.” That sounds **so** odd. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/6 "2021-01-02T21:10:00Z")
I’ve heard “i-DEAR” more often than “I-dee,” that just sounds super weird. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/7 "2021-01-02T21:16:45Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever heard it pronounced “I-dee.” Nor have I. In New England fashion, I of course pronounce it I-dee-ah. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/8 "2021-01-02T21:34:19Z")
Was the ESL teacher’s recommendation pronounced the same as I.D.? (The same as saying the letters _I_ and _D_) I have trouble believing that that routinely occurs across the US. I can believe that when people talk rapidly the third syllable gets slurred into inaudibility – “What’s the idea of coming here?” (As Ludovic said above) But as a standalone word, I have trouble saying it without a third syllable. I-duh? I-deh? It does not seem to work. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/9 "2021-01-02T22:30:56Z")
Always i-dee-uh. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/10 "2021-01-02T22:45:14Z")
Here in Rhode Island it’s usually ‘eye-deer’. I stick to the more common ‘eye-dee-uh’. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/11 "2021-01-02T22:50:36Z")
Never in my life have I heard it as “eye-dee.” ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/12 "2021-01-02T23:04:34Z")
“I.D.” Is an abbreviation for “identification” as far as I’m aware. “Idea” is pronounced “eye-dee-ah” at least around here. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/13 "2021-01-02T23:06:08Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Never in my life have I heard it as “eye-dee.” “I lost my Idy too but not in a flood.” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/14 "2021-01-02T23:29:48Z")
If you say, _“I have a thought…”_, that would be putting on airs. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/15 "2021-01-02T23:33:14Z")
Your ESL teacher needs to study EFL. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/16 "2021-01-02T23:37:33Z")
Bizarre pronunciation aside, teachers should _encourage_ their students to put on airs. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/17 "2021-01-02T23:39:02Z")
_I-dee-uh_ for me. _I-dee-er_ for a friend of mine from Eastern PA. But then he does the _warsh,_ so loves to throw in Intrusive Rs… OP, are you reading these posts? What do you think? Where are you from? More importantly, where was your teacher from? Is there a regionalism, or class distinction that would account for the “i-dee” pronunciation? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/18 "2021-01-02T23:40:07Z")
eye-deer for me but have been starting I-Dee-A ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/19 "2021-01-02T23:40:43Z")
The only time I’ve ever heard “i-dee” is with some Foghorn Leghorn type faux southern accent. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539/20 "2021-01-02T23:45:14Z")
Hey, you know what you got if you got a deer with no eyes? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-idea/929539.md?page=2)