4mo ago

How do you pronounce zsh? Sudo? Ssh?

Ok, going for full controversy here. zsh = "zoosh" ssh = "shoosh" sudo = sue-dough

Before you achktually me, I know it's supposed to be "sue-DO", because the acronym stands for "superuser do", but for the life of me, when I see those letters together it just seems wrong to pronounce it that way.

115 comments

Zed-shell, soo-dough, s-s-h
- Zed-shell
  Why not Zee-shell? Zed's dead.
  
  filthy american
  
  Zee sells Zee-shells down by Zee-shore?
  
  It’s “zed” because Brits know that it came from “zeta,” which has no “d” in it. That’s also why they don’t say “ay bee see dee eee eff jee”, they say “al bed cam del epp dye gam.”
  
  Zally zold zee-zhell by the zea-zhore
- Is that how you pronounce it? I always say Zed-S-H
  
  Less of a tongue twister

When I first saw sudo I assumed it was pronounced "pseudo" because it lets you fake like you're doing stuff as another user. So that has stuck for me. (And despite all evidence, I still low-key believe it's a clever pun encompassing both that and the official "superuser do.")
- Yeah. I totally thought this too. That’s why I was stubborn about it. 🙄.
  On a more serious note. I love this lol.

For me, zsh is pronounced "bash."
(One-upping your "full controversy," LOL)
- Haha I was waiting for this one!

For ZSH and SSH I just speak the letters: Z-S-H, S-S-H. Sudo as ~~"SUE-do"~~ "SUE-doo".
One I wonder about is xrandr. I say "EKS-rand-ur", have heard others say "eks-R-and-R".
edit: for sudo long vowel. Also I tend to stress the H in ZSH and SSH.
- Even though it's only one extra syllable, "eks-R-and-R" just sounds awkward. I definitely go with "EKS-rand-ur"
- I have also always said eks-rand-ur. Not heard eks-R-and-R
  
  Technically it stands for “rotate and rescale” or something like that.

zsh: “Z shell”
ssh: S-S-H
sudo: I always think of it as “pseudo”

I enjoy your pronunciation! I've been using Linux primary for nearly 20 years now. Here's my list:
Command Phonetic

zsh zee shell or zed-ess-aitch
ssh ess-ess-aitch
sudo soo-doo
awk awk
sed sed
regex reg-eks
- For you, is it 'reG-eks' or 'reJ-eks'? I know it should absolutely be the former, but my brain tells me to say the latter when I read it.
  
  Like gif
  
  Always the former. It's a short form of regular expression, not rejular expression. But I don't really judge others for their chosen pronunciation, as long as it's understandable.
- Zee shells See shells
  \ by the awk soo-doo
  \ for the sed reg-seks.
- I know that may sound harsh, but experience doesn't qualify here. You even may have introduced your doctrine to others!!
  :)
  To provide something to the discussion, here are the common sounds from Germany:
  ZETT-ESS-HAH!
  SS-HAH!
  Su-Doh
  'awk (from Hawk) or AHH-WEE-KAAH!!
  SETT or even ESS-EH-DEH.
  People knowing that it can be named as "superuser do" still say su-Doh. Then on the other hand, dont ask about REH-DU!

Command	Phonetic
zsh	zee shell or zed-ess-aitch
ssh	ess-ess-aitch
sudo	soo-doo
awk	awk
sed	sed
regex	reg-eks

For me (UK):
zsh = zed ess aitch
sudo - exactly the same as "pseudo"
ssh = ess ess aitch
I'm not alone in this, it's only what all of my colleagues say.
- I'm Aussie so I feel like the proper way to say zsh is as you described, but it just feels cumbersome, so I say "zoosh"

Well, achktually SUDO stands for "substitute-user do." The default action just happens to be the super user, but you can substitute any user.
- TIL
  I've never used Linux with more than one user (me) so the thought never crossed my mind

Zed shell.
Pseudo.
Ess ess aitch.

Zee shell
Sue dough
Ess ess aitch
That said, I have no problems changing my pronunciations if I find the creators or whatever said, "Actually, it's pronounced
<like this>
."

Sue-dough & s-s-h here. Can’t speak to zsh yet, haven’t actually talked about it w/ others yet. How about /etc/? Sometimes I call it “e-t-c” but others I say “etsee”
- I guess I’m in the minority here calling it “et cetera”
- I say etsy because I think I heard some Linux YouTubers call it that back in the day and it just stuck

As a former IT guy, I got used to just saying "secure shell" every time I saw SSH, to help teach my younger IT folks the lingo. I don't even say the acronym anymore. When I did, I just spoke the letters (es-es-aich).
Same for ZSH; I just call it Z-Shell (zee-shell).
Sudo has always been "soo-doh" (or "sue-dough" as OP spelled it; same pronunciation). I've never met anyone who pronounced it differently in my 20 years of IT work.
- That's interesting because any time this comes up online I see scores of people claiming that it MUST be pronounced "Sue Doo", but literally never heard anyone say that IRL either

ZSH = Zee-shell
\ SSH = S-S-H
\ SUDO = Sue-dough
\ KornShell = Aaaarrre you readyyyyyyyyy!

Word	IPA	Notes
sudo	sʏː.doʔ	short u (though my accent pronounces it a bit differently); then ‘do’ (as in the note) followed by a glottal stop
zsh	ziː.esː.ejtʃ	z-s-h spelled out
ssh	esː.esː.ejtʃ	s-s-h spelled out

Zsh: "Zed shell" or "Zee shell" (depends)
SSH: spelt out S-S-H (both in English and in my native language)
sudo: like "sumo wrestler" only with a "d"

Its fun to talk about SQL pronunciation as well.
I am a fan of “ess Quaal”
- I'm relative sure SQL is a backronym for Sequel, and Microsoft had to change the name and wanted to keep the pronunciation. But ess Quall is my favorite so far, that's amazing
  The original name SEQUEL, which is widely regarded as a pun on QUEL, the query language of Ingres,[14] was later changed to SQL (dropping the vowels) because "SEQUEL" was a trademark of the UK-based Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Engineering Limited company.[15] The label SQL later became the acronym for Structured Query Language.
  
  I think you’re right about the SEQUEL to SQL backformation but why would Microsoft enter into it at all?
  The naming and origin of SQL happened back in the 70s, long before Microsoft did its work on porting Sybase to OS/2 in the late 80s.
- I thought it was just "sequel"? Like that was the official pronunciation? Or is there not an accepted "official" pronunciation?
  
  I think it is, or at least thats what I call it in my regular day to day. But calling it es Qual is fun
- Thanks to The Primeagen, I've recently become fond of pronouncing it /skwiːl/
  Y'know: Squeal, Squeal-lite, Pee-squeal, etc.
- Haha sounds like some kind of exotic spanish fashion brand. "Who am I wearing? Oh, it's es Quaal."

Zee shell, sue dough, s s h

“Zee shell”
“Sue doo”
“Ess ess aitch”

I don't pronounce them at all, because that would require friends in the real world
- Aw I'll be your friend
  
  I appreciate that. I probably should have put a /s tag on it.

Zee Ess Aitch
Ess Ess Aitch
Psuedo
Sue-doo is weird and unnatural.
- I know a guy that says ess-you-doo

I always read it as zed ess heych
- i always call it zee, but only for zsh. It's zed for any other purpose

I know it's not consistent but I read them like zsh = zee shell, ssh I spell out "s s h", sudo I say /ˈsuː.doʊ/. or "soo dough"

I never read it out loud, but in my mind it's always "zeesh"
sudo is just pseudo and ssh is just 3 letters
- Zeesh sounds like something Amy from Futurama would say

Zsh: Ts-sch
Ssh: Ss-sch
sudo: Es Yu De Oh
- ??????????????
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sny3wSsJIoY

fish: fish

I say "zeesh". Like "sheesh" with a z.

I use vie in the zeeshell to edit my suedooers file.

zee-shell or zed-shell, depending on dialect

Sudo - Su-dough
SSH - Es-es-eych (ch like change)
Zsh - Zesh

Es-es-eych
Zed-es-eych
sue-dough
slash-et-see
user-bin-env

Zed-s-h.
s-s-h
Su-doo
- Sue dough

Chmod = Chad mod

Zeesh. Rhymes with sheesh!

zsh: ĵ
ssh: "ssh bby is ok"
sudo: like sumo wrestling
- 😂 10/10 for style

Zush rhymes with kush in my head. But out loud I say the letters because I think zush probably isn't how you're supposed to say it
Soo-dough (dough like the stuff you knead)
Es-es-aych
Oh also, I've found myself pronouncing the normal English word "gnome" as "guh nome" now because that's how the DE is pronounced lol

Zee shell
Sue dough
Ess ess aych
Sequel
Jif
Double U double U double U dot
- Jif
  (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

- Lol now fire ze missiles

I've always pronounced sudo the same way that the sudo part of sudowoodo is pronounced. I actually used to think it was an obscure Pokemon reference when I first started using Linux but both Linux and sudo itself Predate Pokemon.

sudo rhymes with judo

Z-shell sue doe S.S.H

Jif.

"zish" so it doesn't sound like "sheesh"
ess ess aych
sue-dough

ZzzzzZZzzsh
Sue-do
Ass-ass-hate

Zsh - za-sh (like bash)
Ssh - s-s-h
Sudo - sue-do
Awk - aw-k (like the hawk but no h)
Cat - c-a-t
Chmod - ch-mod (ch like change and mod like model)
Mkdir - m-k-dir
Vim - vim
Vi - v-i
Journald - journald (like journal and the d like Harold)
Sed - sed
Man - maan

There is entirely too much dough in this thread (/j).
I pronounce it staccato:
\ s'ú . d'ó

zorn-shell, do-as, s-s-h
- https://images.app.goo.gl/sZ8YwLfbnKYVnYhe6

Zed ess aitch

Zee shell, or zish or just each letter ze es aych depends on my mood and if I’m feeling spicy.

Z-shell

now better: nginx!

I say zsh, s s h, and sudo. But I'm Finnish and we're literal folk language wise.
- Ah but do you say it "Sue Doo" or "Sue dough"?
  But I'm Finnish
  Wait... Linus?
  
  No. If they want to call it sue doo or sue dough, they should have written that. :)
  I also pronounce Linus Linus.

115 comments