# How do you say "FAQ"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086 "2011-11-25T21:41:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sangfroid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@sangfroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sangfroid)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/21 "2011-11-26T04:42:57Z")
ETA: (missed edit window) After reading link, United Postal Service has always been U-P-S to me, not sure why. “Ups” sounds funny… ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/22 "2011-11-26T04:46:43Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > The way I see it, **FAQs** contain **facts** , so I pronounce the two bolded words similarly. Me, 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:** [November 26, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/23 "2011-11-26T05:27:23Z")
> [@sangfroid](#): > > ETA: (missed edit window) > > After reading link, United Postal Service has always been U-P-S to me, not sure why. “Ups” sounds funny… I have never heard anyone pronounce it “ups.” ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/24 "2011-11-26T06:25:16Z")
I pronounce it as Frequently Asked Questions. It just doesn’t come up often enough for me to feel the need to shorten it when speaking it out loud. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/25 "2011-11-26T07:39:40Z")
In my head I say Fack but on the rare occasion I say it out loud I always say “F-A-Q”. ---
**Author:** ![Bibliothecarius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@Bibliothecarius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliothecarius)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/26 "2011-11-26T09:13:35Z")
F-A-Q. Never heard anyone say ‘fack’ - it would, after all, sound a little too much like ‘fuck’ for most people’s ears I think. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/27 "2011-11-26T18:09:46Z")
**OpalCat** , while I have long respected you and your opinions, I’m afraid I’m going to have to come down pretty hard on you here. I’ve been in Computer Science for a loooong time. It’s has been and always be Eff-A-Cue. I have _never_ heard anyone say it any differently. Pronouncing it any other way makes the person sound as if they are brain damaged, a sitcom character, or some such. It’d be like hearing someone saying “M.P.H” as “meff” or some such. Spell it out. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/28 "2011-11-26T18:23:26Z")
Interesting that everyone who pronounces it as a word (and I’m among them) seems to agree the pronunciation is fack. Nobody seems to be suggesting it’s pronounced fake. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/29 "2011-11-26T19:05:45Z")
It’s an acronym, so fack it is. If it were, say, FQA, it would be an initialism and unpronouncable as a word. But then I pronounce SUVs, those 10-gallon-to-the-mile trucks, as suvs. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/30 "2011-11-26T19:15:47Z")
> [@Bibliothecarius](#): > > F-A-Q. Never heard anyone say ‘fack’ - it would, after all, sound a little too much like ‘fuck’ for most people’s ears I think. > [@ftg](#): > > **OpalCat** , while I have long respected you and your opinions, I’m afraid I’m going to have to come down pretty hard on you here. > > I’ve been in Computer Science for a loooong time. It’s has been and always be Eff-A-Cue. I have _never_ heard anyone say it any differently. > > Pronouncing it any other way makes the person sound as if they are brain damaged, a sitcom character, or some such. It’d be like hearing someone saying “M.P.H” as “meff” or some such. > > Spell it out. Heh. I’ve never heard anyone say anything other than spelling it out either. How do those of you who say “fack” deal with PDF and BMP? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/31 "2011-11-26T19:22:18Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > How do those of you who say “fack” deal with PDF and BMP? Pee Dee Eff and either Bee Em Pee or bitmap. How do you deal with words like “cat”? See Ayy Tee? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/32 "2011-11-26T19:29:42Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Heh. I’ve never heard anyone say anything other than spelling it out either. > > How do those of you who say “fack” deal with PDF and BMP? The same way you do everything else. The rule is that you pronounce those you can and don’t the ones you can’t. There are a few exceptions, like UPS, and stuff like SQL where someone tried to get people pronounce it like it had several missing vowels. And for everyone saying crap about the OP, I’ll point out that Facks is winning. This is why you shouldn’t judge people as morons for not fitting into your own personal jargon. The fact that computer people say it one way means jack shit in the real world. Oh, and BMP is often pronounce as bimp, in the same way PNG is ping. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/33 "2011-11-26T19:56:45Z")
Of all the polls ever held on the SDMB, this is the one with the result that most surprises me. I honestly would have guessed that 97% of people said “F-A-Q.” ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/34 "2011-11-26T20:32:21Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The same way you do everything else. The rule is that you pronounce those you can and don’t the ones you can’t. There are a few exceptions, like UPS, and stuff like SQL where someone tried to get people pronounce it like it had several missing vowels. I pronounce mySQL as “my Ess Cue Ell” even though in my head I _hear_ it as “my sequel.” Don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/35 "2011-11-26T20:35:19Z")
I just say “frequently asked questions”. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/36 "2011-11-26T21:36:07Z")
Another vote for ‘fack.’ But then, I say it that way outloud, too. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/37 "2011-11-26T21:58:26Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Of all the polls ever held on the SDMB, this is the one with the result that most surprises me. I honestly would have guessed that 97% of people said “F-A-Q.” Me too. But I often assume that the person I’m speaking to won’t get what I mean if I say “fack” so that’s why I usually say “frequently asked questions.” Unless I know the person is internet-savvy enough to get “fack” or even “F-A-Q” which is often not the case. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/38 "2011-11-26T22:21:02Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Voted something else. > > I always hesitate for a fraction of a second while wondering how to pronounce it, then say “frequently asked question.” Always. > > . This. I’ll WRITE it as FAQ, but it’s just not a good verbal constriction. I mean, who pronounces FBI any other way than EFF BEE EYE? Besides, it’s a plural thing, so while you could say EFF AYE QUEUES, it’d be more confusing to tell someone to go check the FACKS. Especially if they don’t have a fax machine. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/39 "2011-11-26T22:39:00Z")
Either say it as ‘fack’, or actually say the whole phrase (‘frequently asked questions’)…saying out the letters is the worst of both worlds. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086/40 "2011-11-27T02:43:03Z")
> [@sangfroid](#): > > ETA: (missed edit window) > > After reading link, United Postal Service has always been U-P-S to me, not sure why. “Ups” sounds funny… > [@pulykamell](#): > > I have never heard anyone pronounce it “ups.” I have. In the 70’s I worked for a Dutchman who had emigrated to the States as a young adult. He never acquired full command of English, and his speech was filled with malapropisms and oddities. He always said “ups” instead of “U.P.S.” (United **Parcel** Service, by the way.) . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-faq/604086.md?page=3)