GIF basics · 5 min read
How do you pronounce GIF correctly?
Quick answer
GIF can be pronounced two ways, and major dictionaries accept both: with a hard G, like “gift” without the T, or with a soft G, like “jif”. The hard G is more common in surveys, while the format’s creator, Steve Wilhite, insisted on the soft G.
Key takeaways
- Both are accepted. Merriam-Webster, Cambridge and Dictionary.com list both pronunciations.
- Hard G (/ɡɪf/) is more popular. It led every major survey we found.
- Soft G (/dʒɪf/) has the creator’s backing. Steve Wilhite said so publicly in 2013.
- Our advice: say whichever comes naturally and don’t correct anyone. You’ll be understood either way.
How do you pronounce GIF?
There are two accepted pronunciations. Both rhyme with “if”, and the only difference is the first sound:
- Hard G, /ɡɪf/: starts like “gift” or “graphics”. Say “gift” and drop the T.
- Soft G, /dʒɪf/: starts like “giant” or “giraffe”. It sounds the same as Jif, the peanut butter brand.
A small number of people spell it out as “G-I-F”, and in some languages the word has its own local sound: French dictionaries list a third pronunciation that starts like the “s” in “measure”.
What did GIF’s creator say?
Steve Wilhite, who led the CompuServe team behind the format, was firmly on the soft G side. When he accepted a Lifetime Achievement Webby in May 2013, his five-word speech was a slide saying it’s pronounced “jif”, not “gif”. He then told The New York Times that dictionaries accepting both were simply wrong.
The soft G also has an in-joke behind it. The original team riffed on a famous Jif peanut butter slogan, and according to accounts of the format’s history, wrote that “choosy programmers choose” jif.
Which pronunciation is more common?
The hard G wins in every major survey we could find, though how much depends on who was asked. The Economist argued that many online polls lean towards countries where the hard G is popular, and its population-adjusted estimate was much closer.
| Survey | Hard G | Soft G | Spelled out or other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mashable and partners, 2013 (30,706 people) | About 7 in 10 | — | — |
| Stack Overflow developers, 2017 | 65.6% | 26.3% | 8% |
| The Economist, 2017 (population-adjusted) | 44% | 32% | 21% spelled out |
| van der Meulen, English Today, 2019 | 57.2% | 31.8% | 11% (both or spelled out) |
What do dictionaries say?
They mostly refuse to pick a winner. When Oxford’s American team made “GIF” its 2012 Word of the Year, it noted that either G was fine. The dictionaries differ mainly in which one they list first:
| Dictionary | Listed first | Also lists |
|---|---|---|
| Merriam-Webster | Hard G | Soft G |
| Cambridge (American English) | Hard G | Soft G |
| American Heritage (5th ed.) | Hard G | Soft G |
| Dictionary.com | Soft G | Hard G |
| Oxford Dictionary of English (3rd ed.) | Soft G | Hard G |
The best arguments on each side
For the hard G: the G stands for “graphics”, which has a hard G. It’s also what most people say, and pronunciation ultimately follows use. In 2020, Jif itself partnered with GIPHY on limited-edition “GIF” jars to say that its name is the only “jif”.
For the soft G: the people who made it said so, and acronyms don’t have to copy the words inside them. Nobody says “scuba” with the sound of the U in “underwater”. English spelling doesn’t settle it either: linguist Michael Dow’s 2020 analysis found that “gi” words split almost evenly between the two sounds once you account for how common each word is.
Curious where the word came from in the first place? Read what GIF stands for, or head to what a GIF actually is for how the format works.
Hard G or soft G, you can make one here for free. Our GIF Maker works in your browser, with no upload.Open GIF Maker
New to this topic? Start with our main guide: What is a GIF and how does it work?
Frequently asked questions
Is it pronounced GIF or JIF?
Both are accepted. Major dictionaries list a hard G, like gift, and a soft G, like jif. The hard G is more common in surveys, and the format’s creator preferred the soft G.
How did the creator of the GIF pronounce it?
Steve Wilhite pronounced it with a soft G, like the peanut butter brand Jif, and said so publicly when he received a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.
What is the most common way to pronounce GIF?
The hard G. It led each survey we reviewed, with 65.6% in Stack Overflow’s 2017 developer survey and 44% in The Economist’s population-adjusted estimate, ahead of 32% for the soft G.
Does the G in graphics mean GIF has a hard G?
That’s a popular argument, but it isn’t a rule. Acronyms don’t always keep the sounds of the words they come from. The word “scuba” is a well-known example, because its U stands for underwater but sounds different.
How do you spell the pronunciation of GIF?
In phonetic notation the hard G version is /ɡɪf/ and the soft G version is /dʒɪf/. Both rhyme with “if”.
Sources
- Pronunciation of GIF (Wikipedia)
- “GIF” beats out “YOLO” as Oxford Dictionary word of 2012 (NPR)
- White House Tumblr endorses hard “G” for GIFs (NBC News)
- Results of the GIF survey (Eric Meyer)
