# How to pronounce "pwn" and "pwnd" ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474 "2010-05-23T16:50:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [May 23, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/1 "2010-05-23T16:50:50Z")
“Pwn” or “Pwnd” I think I know what it means, don’t know how or even if it’s supposed to be pronounced. Thanks. Now get off my lawn. . ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/2 "2010-05-23T17:08:34Z")
think ‘owned’ with a p at the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/3 "2010-05-23T17:12:57Z")
It’s pronounced “owned”. It’s just a typo that somehow became a meme. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/4 "2010-05-23T17:14:08Z")
> [@Gustav](#): > > It’s pronounced “owned”. No. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/5 "2010-05-23T17:14:30Z")
Urban dictionary is your friend… > **[Urban Dictionary: pwn](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pwn)** > > pwn: PWN (verb) 1. An act of dominating an opponent. 2. Great, ingenious; applied to methods and objects. Originally dates back to the days of WarCraft, when... > [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > No. Are you being pedantic? I’m pretty sure it is pronounced very similar to ‘owned’ except that you pronounce a ‘p’ at the beginning. ‘powned’. And, care to provide a more useful rebuttal than “No.”? ---
**Author:** ![J\_Cubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@J\_Cubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_Cubed)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/6 "2010-05-23T17:20:18Z")
Take a look at around 16:10: [http://www.nbc.com/community/video/the-art-of-discourse/1223822/](http://www.nbc.com/community/video/the-art-of-discourse/1223822/) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/7 "2010-05-23T17:23:23Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s pronounced “owned”. It’s just a typo that somehow became a meme. That’s its origin, but it’s since developed into a new word, with a new meaning. I would never say that I pwn four working computers, but I might say that I pwned a friend at Starcraft. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/8 "2010-05-23T17:26:13Z")
> [@J\_Cubed](#): > > Take a look at around 16:10: > [Watch - NBC.com](http://www.nbc.com/community/video/the-art-of-discourse/1223822/) I just get an NBC animation and then blackness. No player controls or anything. I’m guessing it’s not available outside the US. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/9 "2010-05-23T17:26:23Z")
I’ve only ever heard it pronounced poned (Owned but with a P). ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/10 "2010-05-23T17:27:30Z")
I suppose there’s no formal correct pronounciation and I’m sure there are people who do pronounce the “p”, but the word “pwn” comes from a typo in a text message. Just like you would type the word “nuclear” the same whether you pronounce it “nu-clear” or “nukular”, you pronounce “own” the same whether you spell it “pwn” or “own”. At least in my experience, even people who would normally type “pwn” would still pronounce the word normally over voice chat. e: huh, I guess my experience isn’t the norm, fair enough. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/11 "2010-05-23T17:27:51Z")
Or you could think of it as “Boned” but with the B being replaced by P. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/12 "2010-05-23T17:29:25Z")
> [@Gustav](#): > > I suppose there’s no formal correct pronounciation and I’m sure there are people who do pronounce the “p”, but the word “pwn” comes from a typo in a text message. Just like you would type the word “nuclear” the same whether you pronounce it “nu-clear” or “nukular”, you pronounce “own” the same whether you spell it “pwn” or “own”. > > At least in my experience, even people who would normally type “pwn” would still pronounce the word normally over voice chat. Then it must be a thing that varies from region to region.. Because whenever I’ve heard it said by friends or on youtube or other website the P is most definitely pronounced. Edit: Perhaps you are confusing it with the word ‘Owned’ which has also been adopted for use with the new meaning. Someone can ‘own’ and also ‘pwn’. They are two independent words that both mean the same thing in the particular context they are used. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/13 "2010-05-23T17:36:39Z")
I’ve only heard “powned” and I’ve played (and designed) a lot of online games. When we recorded the dialog for _Fat Princess_ (an online game for PS3) that’s the pronunciation we told the actor to use. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/14 "2010-05-23T17:39:07Z")
It’s “powned”. The p is an o with a drop of the opponent’s blood dripping off. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/15 "2010-05-23T17:50:19Z")
[Earlier thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=431129). I’m still alone in my rendering. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/16 "2010-05-23T18:02:02Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [Earlier thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=431129). I’m still alone in my rendering. “Pooned”? That’s a new one. Is that a Welsh-influenced reading of “pwned”? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/17 "2010-05-23T18:04:44Z")
On the show, _Community_, they repeatedly pronounced it as “pone.” I like to think of the “w” in “pwn” as a lowercase Greek Omega (ω), which has a long “o” sound, so it works out phonentically in my idiosyncratic little mind. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/18 "2010-05-23T18:48:54Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > On the show, _Community_, they repeatedly pronounced it as “pone.” > > I like to think of the “w” in “pwn” as a lowercase Greek Omega (ω), which has a long “o” sound, so it works out phonentically in my idiosyncratic little mind. That makes no sense. Why would you do that? I do that, too. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/19 "2010-05-23T19:38:42Z")
[More support for it rhyming with “own”](http://www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px=%2F101.jpg), though it doesn’t imply anything about whether the P is pronounced. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474/20 "2010-05-23T19:42:56Z")
I pronounce it just like it’s spelled. OK, maybe I stuff a bit of schwa in there somewhere… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-pwn-and-pwnd/540474.md?page=2)