# Never mind Cthulhu--how do you pronounce R'lyeh? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 27, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844 "2011-02-27T21:07:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/1 "2011-02-27T21:07:49Z")
The 2005 silent film “Call of Cthulhu” finally came up in my Netflix queue earlier this week. It’s a wonderfully done little movie, by the way, in a 1920s style with some Caligari-esque sets, and the closest adaption of an HP Lovecraft story I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot of loosely-based-on-Lovecraft movies). Among the extras was a making-of featurette, in which some the film’s crew talked about the film’s design. I was struck, however, by the way they all pronounced “R’lyeh”–sort of like “Ruh-LAY,” with a strong emphasis on the second syllable. Now, whenever I’ve had reason to speak aloud the dread name of the antedeluvian sunken city where Cthulhu fhtagns, I’ve pronounced it more like “Rye-la.” So I ask now out of general curiosity, how do _you_ pronounce it? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/2 "2011-02-27T21:12:53Z")
Standard answer: you need an 18 inch tongue to pronounce it properly. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/3 "2011-02-27T21:18:22Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Standard answer: you need an 18 inch tongue to pronounce it properly. Well, no, you need squamous and eldritch organs of namelessly horrible speech to pronounce it _correctly_. The longer tongue might help a little - but good grief, OP, why are you even trying this? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/4 "2011-02-27T21:27:00Z")
“Rull Yeh,” with the second syllable being kind of snapped off. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/5 "2011-02-27T21:27:59Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > … but good grief, OP, why are you even trying this? Because if you don’t pronounce it right who knows what you might summon up? Do you just go around randomly pronouncing terms in summoning rituals and hope of the best?! :eek: _Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn…_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/6 "2011-02-27T21:32:19Z")
Throatwarbler Mangrove, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/7 "2011-02-27T21:34:18Z")
I’ve never dared to say it out loud–what do you think I am, some kind of _fool?_–but if I did, it would be something like Ruh-LIE-uh. If I lived long enough to get it out. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/8 "2011-02-27T23:37:50Z")
Hell, I’m still trying to pronounce “fhtagn.” I tried to read the sentence in **Apollyon** ’s post out loud, but it comes out sounding like I’m gargling. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/9 "2011-02-28T00:23:09Z")
> [@Lucky\_13](#): > > I tried to read the sentence in **Apollyon** ’s post out loud, but it comes out sounding like I’m gargling. It sounds like gargling? That’s perfect! Look, if you’re interested, I hear there’s a spot opening up with the _Sons of Sub-Niggurath_… something about one of their acolytes being committed… I can put you in touch with some people who know some people… They’ll need an answer soon though, the circle must be complete for the Shoggoth summoning come the equinox. (To the OP: I don’t know if there’s an official pronunciation, but I’ve always said _R’lyeh_ with an “R” like the first part of “red” followed by “lay”). ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/10 "2011-02-28T00:45:05Z")
R’lyeh - Ruh-LYE-yeh\*. And I pronounce it because I play Arkham Horror with my friends, and I always bloody end up stuck in there!!! \*occasionally pronounced as “Jesus fuck me, not in there again…” ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/11 "2011-02-28T01:11:13Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Standard answer: you need an 18 inch tongue to pronounce it properly. Paging **Giraffe**! ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/12 "2011-02-28T01:25:35Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > R’lyeh - Ruh-LYE-yeh\*. > > And I pronounce it because I play Arkham Horror with my friends, and I always bloody end up stuck in there!!! Yep, I pronounce it Ruh-LYE-yeh as well, and I do for the same reason as you; a game my friends and I used to play. We all pronounced it the same. By the way, we pronounced the word fhtagn “fətaʔn” with the glottal stop barely perceptible, yet there. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/13 "2011-02-28T01:26:08Z")
Whenever Cthulhu and I go out drinking, the same thing always happens. About 2 in the morning when he’s really hammered he gets all weepy and starts talking about the old days and home. He pronounces it Rhuhl-YEt with the t kind of slurred but by that point everything is kind of slurred so…who knows. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/14 "2011-02-28T01:57:36Z")
A xymolosely polydactyl tongue will enable most folks to pronounce just about everything that Lovecraft wrote about. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/15 "2011-02-28T02:02:28Z")
Like **Real Estate Agent** minus the _state_ and the _gent_ with a semi-silent _a_. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/16 "2011-02-28T03:06:44Z")
Riley, eh? Futon-gchch. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/17 "2011-02-28T03:12:55Z")
Kinda like a Japanese throat singer pronouncing futon. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/18 "2011-02-28T03:31:30Z")
Like the city in West Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/19 "2011-02-28T03:45:25Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Riley, eh? “I say, that Irishman seeks dread Cthulhu in the loathsome nightmare corpse-city!” “Oh, really?” “No! O’R’lyeh!” ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/20 "2011-02-28T04:13:17Z")
Or kinda like a Southie sayin’ “relier” …it would come out “r’liah”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844.md?page=2)