# "Say cheese!" in Other Languages **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-cheese-in-other-languages/451045 "2008-05-29T18:08:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-cheese-in-other-languages/451045/21 "2008-06-01T04:51:41Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] What, no “tequila”? 😕 [/QUOTE] “Tequila” would leave your mouth wide open, rather than what you are usually trying to accomplish with “Cheese!” ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-cheese-in-other-languages/451045/22 "2008-06-01T04:56:09Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] “Tequila” would leave your mouth wide open, rather than what you are usually trying to accomplish with “Cheese!” [/QUOTE] I don’t know, if you know you’re supposed to smile it’s not that hard to make it sound something like Tequileeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh, I can’t really type it out correctly but it comes out quite close to the pseudo-smile you get with cheese, and the sound you make is virtually indistinguishable from tequila. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2008, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-cheese-in-other-languages/451045/23 "2008-06-01T06:04:41Z")
How about “tequeeeeeeeela”? Followed by a shot or two afterward as a reward. Would make ME smile. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2008, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-cheese-in-other-languages/451045/24 "2008-06-02T23:58:06Z")
In Korea, it’s either one: Kimchi or cheese. All depends on the person. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-cheese-in-other-languages/451045/25 "2008-06-03T14:45:14Z")
I knew a professional photographer who would always say, “Say ‘dirty diapers’!” because people would smile or laugh to hear that, not because the subjects saying the words themselves would result in a smile. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-cheese-in-other-languages/451045/26 "2008-06-08T21:07:53Z")
The “dee” sound in \*Disez fromage \* would work in France. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-cheese-in-other-languages/451045/27 "2008-06-12T15:03:52Z")
[QUOTE=Ignatz] The “dee” sound in \*Disez fromage \* would work in France. [/QUOTE] That would be “_Dites ‘fromage’_”, actually. (The imperative form of _dire_ and _faire_ is irregular.) Moreover, the people being photographed would then only reply ‘_fromage!_’, which doesn’t exactly make them do a smile. It’s still used somewhat in French-speaking countries, by analogy with the English phrase. It’s been a while since I’ve been photographed by someone who asked me to say something, but as I remember it usually was ‘fromage’ or ‘cheese’. Sometimes ‘sex’, but that’s because it makes people smile for other reasons. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-cheese-in-other-languages/451045.md?page=1)