This is the correct way to pronounce ‘gyro’
The gyro. Itâs a delicious sandwich typically made with thinly sliced lamb, tzatziki sauce, and onion rolled in a warm pita. Something that simple shouldnât be so complicated to order. After all, itâs only four letters. But whatâs the proper way to pronounce âgyro?â
The word for this classic Greek sandwich was borrowed by the English language in the 1970s, but since then, Americans have butchered the pronunciation to the point weâre no longer sure how to say it. We can no longer order this classic Greek sandwich with confidence.
Most people agree that gyros are delicious, but they tend to disagree on how to pronounce g-y-r-o. Is it GUY-roh? ZHI-ROH? Or maybe JAI-roh? Some say GEE-roh or JEE-roh.
Luckily, this isnât one of those situations where it depends. There is a clear right and wrong way.
And the right way: YEE-roh.
JAI-row is probably the most common way of mispronouncing the popular Greek food, but Merriam-Webster says that pronunciation is only correct when referring to gyro, as in a gyroscope or gyrocompass. Unless youâre talking about the tool that uses Earthâs gravity to help determine orientation (which is likely never), you shouldnât be saying JAI-roh.
If youâre really looking to tighten up your gyro ordering skills, you should also know that technically âgyrosâ is the singular, but in English the final âsâ is often interpreted as a plural. If you are ordering one sandwich you should say, âI would like a gyros (YEE-rohs),â or âena gyroâ in Greek.
Greek doesnât make plurals with the letter âsâ like English and Spanish, but rather, changes the end vowel like Italian. So if you were looking to order two or more gyro, you would say âdio gyraâ or two gyra.
So there you go. Youâre equally prepared to order this tasty snack whether itâs at the local fair or on your next trip to Athens, Greece.
Meghan Rodgers is editor of Everybody Craves. Reach her at 412-380-8506 or mrodgers@535mediallc.com. See other stories, videos, blogs, recipes and more at everybodycraves.com.