# Okay. Don't laugh at me. But... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 24, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-dont-laugh-at-me-but/309675 "2005-06-24T15:48:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-dont-laugh-at-me-but/309675/1 "2005-06-24T15:48:24Z")
…I can’t pronounce the word “sieve”. :o :o :o Is it “seev”? Is it “siv”? What is it?!?!? _hyperventilates_ ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-dont-laugh-at-me-but/309675/2 "2005-06-24T15:50:08Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > …I can’t pronounce the word “sieve”. :o :o :o > > Is it “seev”? Is it “siv”? What is it?!?!? _hyperventilates_ Calm down. I pronounce it “siv,” now, after hearing it pronounced by other people several times. When I was a kid, though, I always assumed it was pronounced “seev.” Hope that helps. If not, here’s a brown paper bag to help you with that breathing problem. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-dont-laugh-at-me-but/309675/3 "2005-06-24T15:52:40Z")
That seems about right. Thanks, Rufus! 😉 _breathes into brown paper bag_ Hey… what have you got in there? :dubious: _peeks_ :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-dont-laugh-at-me-but/309675/4 "2005-06-24T15:52:43Z")
“Stra-TEE-ger-ee” ---
**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:** [June 24, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-dont-laugh-at-me-but/309675/5 "2005-06-24T15:54:22Z")
Ha ha, **Kythereia** , hah h—er, uh, harrumph! I thought “seev” might be an acceptable secondary pronunciation, but my dictionary lists only “siv.” ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-dont-laugh-at-me-but/309675/6 "2005-06-24T16:09:06Z")
_ **Haw-haw!** _ \ Yeah, I say “siv” too. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-dont-laugh-at-me-but/309675/7 "2005-06-24T16:39:17Z")
It’s easy to remember. Use this little rhyme: My mama talk a-too me try to tell me how to live But I don’t listen to her 'cause my head is like a sieve My daddy he disowned my 'cause I wear my sister’s clothes He caught me in the bathroom with a pair of pantyhose ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-dont-laugh-at-me-but/309675/8 "2005-06-24T20:41:56Z")
Alternately, it can be pronounced ‘Whah’. As in Patty… ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-dont-laugh-at-me-but/309675/9 "2005-06-24T22:26:56Z")
I say siv. My mother used to say (not quite) seeve, but on that side of siv. Apparently it’s pronounced that way because its root is the ME _sive_ from OE _sife_ akin to OHG _sib_ according to Merriam-Webster. Other words with that vowel combination, “siege” for example, have roots in words with just an “e” in them. The electrical unit of conductance, “siemens,” is from the German name Siemens and the second vowel in the “ie” combination is pronounced. Likewise with the “Siegfried Line.” ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-dont-laugh-at-me-but/309675/10 "2005-06-24T23:11:59Z")
If, for instance, I were to be in prison with you, and you pissed me off, I would stick you so many times with my _shiv_ that the blood would drain from your gut like from a _sieve_. –Cliffy