# How do YOU pronounce "Van Gogh"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 27, 2011, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419 "2011-05-27T10:18:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/1 "2011-05-27T10:18:40Z")
As discussed in [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=610105) When you attempt to speak the name out loud, what is the pronunciation that most easily finds its way to your lips? ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/2 "2011-05-27T10:28:46Z")
Van Go. I know that’s a totally flat American pronunciation, but I would feel silly and affected trying to pronounce it as the artist himself would have. When my (German) husband said the name to me for the first time, I actually didn’t understand him for a moment because he said it so differently from the way I was used to hearing it. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/3 "2011-05-27T10:49:33Z")
I pronounce it “Van Goch” with the ch rolled like the scottish “loch” - but that’s my inner Afrikaaner coming through… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/4 "2011-05-27T11:47:27Z")
In the U.S. it is pronounced Van Go. When I went to school in Scotland, I didn’t quite know what to do with the pronounciation Van Goch (rhymes with loch) which was used by a lot of students from a lot of nationalities there. I tried it back home and felt like a supercilious twit. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/5 "2011-05-27T12:01:34Z")
Koreans pronounce it Go-heu, sort of. I just say Go, the American way. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/6 "2011-05-27T12:14:23Z")
Van Goff. I would feel like a total arse saying “Vahn Hoccch” or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![phantom\_lamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@phantom\_lamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantom_lamb)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/7 "2011-05-27T12:17:04Z")
People from around here (the Balkans) pronounce it “Van Gogg” so I pronounce it like everyone else not to sound like a pretentious ass. But I “accidentally” voted “Ven Hokh” because at first I thought the poll wanted to know the correct Dutch pronounciation. I’m slow today. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/8 "2011-05-27T12:46:48Z")
> [@grimpixie](#): > > I pronounce it “Van Goch” with the ch rolled like the scottish “loch”. That’s how I say it, too. Of course, as a Hebrew speaker, it isn’t that hard for me. [Here’s QI’s take on the subject.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLTQv8RH1TE) ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/9 "2011-05-27T12:50:09Z")
Van Goff for me. It’s close enough to the correct translation (slightly anglicised) without being totally different like the American “Van Go”. I’d never heard anyone say the American version till I was about 20 or so and someone said it on a US TV show. I was amazed to realise that an entire country pronounced it completely differently! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/10 "2011-05-27T12:52:34Z")
Dammit, another poll where I agree with the majority. You know what he said when his girlfriend told him she realized how passionate his love was when he cut off his ear? ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/11 "2011-05-27T12:57:30Z")
Van Go. I know it’s not right, but I feel silly saying it any other way. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/12 "2011-05-27T12:59:45Z")
Other: to be exact, like the native Dutch (lived there for 12 years): Van Choch (both pronounced like the ch in “loch”). ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/13 "2011-05-27T13:18:06Z")
> [@Mycroft\_Holmes](#): > > Other: to be exact, like the native Dutch (lived there for 12 years): Van Choch (both pronounced like the ch in “loch”). So, to the uninitiated, basically like saying the word “van” and then clearing your throat? :smack: I can’t get my voice back there… ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/14 "2011-05-27T13:34:25Z")
Van Goch But I lived in A’dam for a while so know that the accurate Dutch way is ~Ven Hokh but say with a Dutch accent. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/15 "2011-05-27T13:36:44Z")
I’m a Brit and I always say Van Goff. Most people I know would also say it that way. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/16 "2011-05-27T13:47:17Z")
Brit - I used to say Van Goff until I worked with a Dutchy and asked him how to pronounce it. Now I say Ven Hokh even though I know it sounds pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/17 "2011-05-27T13:49:16Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > Van Go. I know that’s a totally flat American pronunciation, but I would feel silly and affected trying to pronounce it as the artist himself would have. When my (German) husband said the name to me for the first time, I actually didn’t understand him for a moment because he said it so differently from the way I was used to hearing it. I remember when I said the name Milhaud to my French conducting teacher. He laughed out loud at my American pronunciation, which sounded pretty much like Milhouse. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/18 "2011-05-27T13:53:30Z")
I used to say Goff, but I asked a Dutch person and was told that it’s Goch (like Loch). So Goch it is. ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/19 "2011-05-27T14:13:17Z")
Just like [Jonathan Richman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHGChLGH52I). ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419/20 "2011-05-27T14:35:21Z")
Oddly enough, Van Go for the painter, Van Goff for the filmmaker. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-van-gogh/583419.md?page=2)