# What do people "hear" when they read "F\*ck"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2004, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402 "2004-03-15T09:00:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bromley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Bromley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bromley)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/1 "2004-03-15T09:00:17Z")
Inspired by the Church of the Motherfucker post, I’m curious as to what people hear in their minds when they’re reading partially bleeped words. I don’t want this to turn into a poll, so I’ll assume that the norm is to read “F_ck" and hear “Fuck”. I’m only looking for answers from people who see "F_ck” and hear “–beep–”, “the ‘F’ word” or similar. On a potentially related note, I’d be interested in anyone reading “G-d” as something other than “God”. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/2 "2004-03-15T10:37:55Z")
Well, odd as it may seem, a casual read usually has my inner monologue “speaking” the word as “F’k!” with kind of a hiccup in the middle. And yes, at a brief glance, “G-d” sounds like “G’id.” ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/3 "2004-03-15T11:34:31Z")
One of my friends hears “Feck” on the grounds that that’s what we say if we as narrowly as possible avoid saying it. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/4 "2004-03-15T13:05:10Z")
I don’t hear anything when I read F\*ck. Or any other text, for that matter. My inner dialog is text only, no sounds. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/5 "2004-03-15T13:30:56Z")
There’s a gag about a gal who was so unhip, she pronounced _F\_\_\_ing_ as _Fing._😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/6 "2004-03-15T13:57:41Z")
I hear “fkckkkckk”–like radio static. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/7 "2004-03-15T14:02:17Z")
FasteriskCK ---
**Author:** ![Bromley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Bromley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bromley)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/8 "2004-03-15T14:19:55Z")
**Ranchoth**. Are you an English-only speaker, or do you speak a language that uses glottal stops or similar? **RandomLetters**. Do you “see” the letters then, or is your internal perception of words completely different to your external senses? Are you unusual in that, or is it me that’s different (I’d tend to go with the former given the responses here)? Any idea as to why you might perceive things differently - i.e. are you deaf? ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/9 "2004-03-15T16:01:05Z")
I sometimes read G\_d as “God damn” in my head. It can make Great Debates (another GD) livlier. ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/10 "2004-03-15T16:05:54Z")
I think the inner dialog question deserves its own thread. It might be a poll, suitable for IMHO. But it seems worthy of GD status. ---
**Author:** ![fluffball86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@fluffball86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluffball86)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/11 "2004-03-15T16:27:25Z")
I see F\*ck and hear fIck, but when ever I hear the beep on tv, I always hear the F word, the censor doesn’t do anything for me. Also G\_D = Gud ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/12 "2004-03-15T17:01:00Z")
> [@Bromley](#): > > **Ranchoth**. Are you an English-only speaker, or do you speak a language that uses glottal stops or similar? Note that glottal stops appear in English as well. Frequent in dialects like Cockney, for example. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/13 "2004-03-15T17:02:59Z")
My nine year old son listens to music (rap, hip/hop) with “parental advisory” labels. He understands that certain words are not suited for everyday use and is very mature about the whole thing. However, he says “beep” in place of obscenities. He sounds like a south park character talking and being “beeped” by a censor. Weird. My thirteen year old daughter uses “replacement” words. “It is so freakin’ hot”. “That’s bullcrap”. When I tell her that “freakin” is just a word used in place of “fucking” she gets upset because she is very much against using obscenities. When I see “f\*ck” I think of my kids. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/14 "2004-03-15T18:37:16Z")
> [@Bromley](#): > > **RandomLetters**. Do you “see” the letters then, or is your internal perception of words completely different to your external senses? Are you unusual in that, or is it me that’s different (I’d tend to go with the former given the responses here)? Any idea as to why you might perceive things differently - i.e. are you deaf? I generally just see letters, most of my thoughts are in text. Yes, I believe it is unusual - most people seem to combine spoken and written words in their heads, while my mind seems to seperate them. I am not sure why I am like this, I am not deaf. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/15 "2004-03-15T19:19:52Z")
For anybody who actually ‘hears’ the words in their head as they read (most of us?), the practice of some 19th century authors of inserting dashes to add authenticity is infuriating. Thus one might come across: It was September of 18\_\_, in the small market town of St _ **, that I first encountered Madame D** _. At least with f\*ck we are able to hear it if we choose. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/16 "2004-03-15T19:31:53Z")
No [Unix](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fsck) geeks here yet? It’s a Unix disk utility similar to the Windows scandisk. ---
**Author:** ![Sarah23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sarah23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah23)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/17 "2004-03-15T20:17:33Z")
I hear “fuck” without the U. Maybe close to “feck” or 'fckkkkk" Something like that. I’m always fascinated with how people read acronyms and abreviations. For instance, with “SAHM” (stayathomemom) I hear both “sam” and the words it stands for, at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Sarah23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sarah23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah23)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/18 "2004-03-15T20:20:40Z")
> [@RandomLetters](#): > > I generally just see letters, most of my thoughts are in text. Yes, I believe it is unusual - most people seem to combine spoken and written words in their heads, while my mind seems to seperate them. I am not sure why I am like this, I am not deaf. There is name for people who “see” letters (usually associating certain colours with specifics letters, or “seeing” sounds, such as a dog’s bark or a baby’s cry), but I can’t remember what it is. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/19 "2004-03-15T23:28:18Z")
> [@Bromley](#): > > **Ranchoth**. Are you an English-only speaker, or do you speak a language that uses glottal stops or similar? I’m an American English speaker, from Northern California. I don’t speak any other languages, besides the usual smattering of foreign words and phrases that anyone might pick up over a lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Calliope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Calliope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calliope)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402/20 "2004-03-16T00:15:19Z")
When I see f\*ck I hear “fuck.” When I see G\_d, I hear “GuhDuh” I have no idea why I am inconsistent in this way. Actually, every time I see G-d, it stops my reading for a few seconds while I try to process the word. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-hear-when-they-read-f-ck/234402.md?page=2)