# Kalanchoe, the flower - pronunciation **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** gardening\ **Created:** [April 14, 2026, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kalanchoe-the-flower-pronunciation/1029278 "2026-04-14T20:50:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kalanchoe-the-flower-pronunciation/1029278/1 "2026-04-14T20:50:46Z")
We like these flowers because they have pretty blooms and grow well in our environment. Kalanchoe: We have always pronounced it ka -LAN - choe We were watching a video in which he pronounced it KOLIN - choe I looked it up, supposedly it’s kalin - KOE - ee Apparently in the UK it’s different still. I was way off. How have you pronounced it? ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kalanchoe-the-flower-pronunciation/1029278/2 "2026-04-14T21:19:53Z")
In _Breaking Bad_, one of the Albuquerque police detectives was named Kalanchoe, and he pronounced it ka -LAN - choe. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kalanchoe-the-flower-pronunciation/1029278/3 "2026-04-14T22:09:28Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > kalin - KOE - ee yep that’s what I said ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kalanchoe-the-flower-pronunciation/1029278/4 "2026-04-14T22:24:32Z")
I pronounce it Flaming Katy. That way I don’t sound either snooty or like a hick 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kalanchoe-the-flower-pronunciation/1029278/5 "2026-04-14T22:32:09Z")
Snerk. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kalanchoe-the-flower-pronunciation/1029278/6 "2026-04-15T16:44:39Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > supposedly it’s kalin - KOE - ee Yeah, if I say the word at all (there are surprisingly few opportunities to do so), that’s the way I pronounce it. Gotta be botanically correct. Sounds affected though, should be ka-LAN-cho. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kalanchoe-the-flower-pronunciation/1029278/7 "2026-04-15T16:58:16Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Gotta be botanically correct. Yeah, I agree but the girl who sold me our first ones pronounced it ka-LAN-cho. and I didn’t doubt her. 🤷‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kalanchoe-the-flower-pronunciation/1029278/8 "2026-04-15T17:17:19Z")
Let’s take it back to the beginning. A German botanist named Kamel named it, based on some form of Chinese: compare Cantonese 伽藍菜 _ke4 laam4 coi3_, literally ‘temple plant’. There are many things to unpack here. Kamel being German, maybe he thought ⟨ch⟩ should be pronounced /x/ as it is in German. Or maybe he was thinking of the English and Spanish pronunciation /tʃ/. Because, note, the letter ⟨c⟩ used in transcribing Cantonese does _not_ stand for a k sound; it stands for an aspirated ts sound, /t͡sʰ/. The name in Cantonese is pronounced /kʰɛː²¹ laːm²¹ t͡sʰɔːi̯³³/. Anglicized, that would come out to kelamtsoi. Also note the third character meaning ‘plant’ is the same as in _bok choy_, also from Cantonese. Etymologically, pronouncing ch as in English is justifiable because we also say _bok choy_ which has literally the same Cantonese word, 菜. Or maybe the German Kamel thought it was a velar sound, as in German. Conclusion: Clear as mud. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kalanchoe-the-flower-pronunciation/1029278/9 "2026-04-15T17:42:25Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Conclusion: Clear as mud. So if we went back in our time machine and could hear Kamel pronounce it himself, how would it sound? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kalanchoe-the-flower-pronunciation/1029278/10 "2026-04-15T17:43:45Z")
I bet you even he wasn’t sure how to say it!