# Pronunciation of "kilometer" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 27, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100 "2001-02-27T20:43:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GRobLewis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5e925/32.png) [@GRobLewis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GRobLewis)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/1 "2001-02-27T20:43:10Z")
What genius decreed that “kilometer” should be pronounced “kil-OM-eter” when every other metric starting with “kilo” would indicate it should be “KIL-o-meter”? (kilohertz, kilojoules, kilobytes, even kilobucks). My dictionary says that “KIL-o-meter” is an acceptable alternate pronunciation, and that’s the one I personally intend to use now and forever. Won’t you join me in attempting to rationalize this ridiculous aberration of English? I mean, “kil-OM-eter” even sounds ugly! ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/2 "2001-02-27T21:11:29Z")
My only guess is that it might be the three long vowels in a (relatively) short word. Kee-l-O-mee-ter. People probably just got lazy in their pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![davesink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@davesink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davesink)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/3 "2001-02-27T21:20:15Z")
I thoroughly respect your rationale re pronunciation of kilometer HOWEVER: You’ll notice the words you cited kilobyte, kilogram, etc.) contain only three syllables. The additional syllable makes the shifted emphasis to the second syllable sound “righter ;)” to me.(notice therMOmeter, baROmeter) ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/4 "2001-02-27T21:20:42Z")
Hey, **GRobLewis,** check out this site and this: > [@](#): > > Many people insist that this word should have its primary stress on the first syllable so that it will conform to the same stress pattern in millimeter and centimeter. Language, however, does not always operate as regularly or logically as we might wish. Despite objections to the pronunciation with stress on the second syllable, which originally came about by false analogy with barometer and thermometer, it continues to thrive in American English. In a recent ballot, 69 percent of the Usage Panel preferred the pronunciation with stress on the second syllable, 29 percent preferred the pronunciation with stress on the first syllable, and 10 percent said they use both. Most dictionaries have given both pronunciations since the middle of the 19th century. Kil-OM-mutuhs Forever! ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/5 "2001-02-27T21:33:27Z")
You might want to check out this thread in the Comment on Cecil’s Columns forum: [U.S. going metric?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=57916), which talks about this issue for a bit, before digressing … Arjuna34 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/6 "2001-02-27T21:39:32Z")
Just say **klick**. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/7 "2001-02-27T22:52:35Z")
In the Système International d’Unités (SI), every two-syllable prefix has its stress on the first syllable. In a scientific forum, _kilometer_ should always be pronounced with the accent on the first syllable. In a less formal setting, either pronunciation is acceptable. Accent can be important in these matters. _Micrometer_ means “a millionth of a meter” if the accent is on the first syllable, and “a device for measuring very short lengths” if the accent is on the second. But _kilometer_ means the same thing no matter where the accent goes. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/8 "2001-02-27T23:53:25Z")
Ahh, bibliophage, but most people who need to use “micrometer” often in the measurement sense avoid the word completely and say “micron.” Much easier, and just better. Jman (who says “Kil-OM-eter.” I hate the way it sounds the other way) ---
**Author:** ![Race\_Bannon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Race\_Bannon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Race_Bannon)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/9 "2001-02-28T03:33:46Z")
I’m with GRobLewis. It’s KILometer. Whenever I hear kilOMeter, I imagine a device for measuring distance. Speedometer, Barometer, Thermometer - all devices for measuring something (that has nothing to do with the SI unit meter, BTW). > [@](#): > > \*Davesink said: \*The additional syllable makes the shifted emphasis to the second syllable sound "righter " to me.(notice therMOmeter, baROmeter) So, do you say cen-TOM-eter? mil-IM-eter? ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/10 "2001-02-28T04:24:54Z")
**kellymccauley** ’s rationale is exactly my thinking, too. If we don’t say “milLIMeter” and “cenTIMeter”, we ought not say “kilOmeter”. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/11 "2001-02-28T12:10:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kellymccauley \* > \*\*I’m with GRobLewis. It’s KILometer. Whenever I hear kilOMeter, I imagine a device for measuring distance. > > Speedometer, Barometer, Thermometer - all devices for measuring something (that has nothing to do with the SI unit meter, BTW). > \*\* I’m with **kellymccauley** on this one. Here in Australia (a metric country), we use the “…metre” spelling. This saves us confusion between units of measurement (metre) and measuring devices (meter). This slight advantage does not, however, save us from the ki-LOM-etre / KIL-o-metre problem. As far as I can tell, people here are evenly divided on these different ways of saying it. Anyways, we usually shorten it to “K”, as in, “It’s fifty K’s to Ballarat”, or “no, officer, I was only doing 60 K’s”. I have to say I’m firmly with the “KIL-o-metre” crowd. As the word is comprised of “kilo” and “metre” it seems that the “LOM” syllable in “ki-LOM-etre” is an orphan syllable. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/12 "2001-02-28T13:40:01Z")
Rationality doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with language. I know people hate it when I say this, but it’s true – usage determines what is correct. Of course there’s an upside to this – if you get enough people in America to pronounce it KILometer (rather than kilOMeter), then it will be the correct pronunciation. Don’t count on it, though. Language tends to wear in its own rut that resists conscious attempts to make it more logical. We still split our infinitives, despite years of coaching not to. It’s fun! It sounds better. As another example of whacko pronunciation, consider “chemotherapy”. Why should it be pronounced “KEE-mo-therapy”? Every other compound word beginning with “chemo-” pronounces it with a short “e”, and often without the accent. In a reasonable world it would be “KEMMO-therapy”. ---
**Author:** ![Ricochet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Ricochet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ricochet)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/13 "2013-05-31T16:01:09Z")
Americans say the word correctly, in accordance with their spelling of the word Kilometer- to the rest of us, a meter is a measuring device, a metre is a unit of measurement… We say "barOmeter, speedOmeter, hygrOmeter… We do not say KilOgram, kilOwatt, or kilOjoule. American English is not really English, it’s about as close to English as English is to German or Dutch, IMHO… Especially when you see words like “Liter”(litre)- Here in Australia, “Liter” would be pronounced “lighter”…:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/14 "2013-05-31T16:04:55Z")
Headsmack indeed. By what metric are you judging American English to be as unlike (British? Australian?) English as German is? ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/15 "2013-05-31T16:35:43Z")
In the UK, depending on where you are, it’s common to hear “KILLometer” as well as “killOMeter”. I tend to swing between the two, although I lean towards “killOMeters”. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/16 "2013-05-31T16:51:41Z")
I pronounce it “zom-BIM-eter.” ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/17 "2013-05-31T16:54:00Z")
Always weird to be reading a thread and only realize it’s a zombie by finding a response by you… While not the case this time, I’ve actually read threads and started formulating my response, then come across my own reply from several years earlier that has almost the exact wording of the response I was going to write. Anyway, BRAINS… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/18 "2013-05-31T17:12:32Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > My only guess is that it might be the three long vowels in a (relatively) short word. Kee-l-O-mee-ter. People probably just got lazy in their pronunciation. I’ve never heard the first syllable pronounced with a long vowel sound. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/19 "2013-05-31T20:49:12Z")
I think I’d better glance at my car’s SPEED-o-meter… ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100/20 "2013-05-31T21:15:12Z")
It’s pronounced, _ **"BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINSSSS!!!"** _😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-kilometer/56100.md?page=2)