Aw very easy to pronounce correctly, I hate how people are pressured to let it slide when their name is mispronounced
AlmostThere4321 on
“People learned how to properly say Tchaikovsky”
– Uzo Aduba’s mother on how “difficult” her name is to pronounce.
👑
sauteedeels on
as an American without a bog standard “American” name I’ve had to correct people on my name my entire life and I’ll never stop. even my friends have to say my name correctly.
Whybambiwhy on
Ma’am, we aren’t doing this in 2026. Tell us how to say your name and make people say it.
ohreallynowz on
I feel bad for ever saying it like the standard Alyssa! Ah-Lisa is not even hard 😭
fortunatelyso on
Tell Jackie Wong! people were going so hard at him on this topic
hamtarohibiscus on
I feel very validated right now finding out it’s pronounced A-lee-sa because that’s how I was saying it in my head until I heard everyone calling her Alyssa. It’s pronounced how it’s written! It’s not hard!
becominganastronaut on
i mean, unless we are corrected, isnt it typical to pronounce names in the most common way?
Exilicauda on
I get it’s a thing but honestly I don’t super care if people pronounce my name wrong either. Like 3/4 people read it wrong and whenever I say it out loud nobody understands or can spell it. If I went with the more common pronunciation then more people would probably understand my name when I said it too. Solidly tempting lmao
amileandahalf on
My first name is very common in the US, especially the year I was born. I never had a problem finding the personalized keychain. When I was in high school working as a cashier at a fast food place, all of the cooks spoke only Spanish, no English. All of them had a difficult time pronouncing my name. The sounds in my name just are not commonly used in Latin American Spanish. It was easy to understand who they meant when saying my name, it was close enough to correct, I never bothered to try to get them to say it right.
I think that with the tonal aspect of the Chinese language it may be very difficult for people without experience with a language like that to replicate perfectly. So making a good faith attempt and saying Lee-oo instead of Loo may be the best that some people are able to consistently say.
It’s good that she’s being asked how to say it the right way, and it’s good that people want to learn it. If it’s still slightly off after that, I think we can let the person whose name it is decide if she’s satisfied.
Not_a_cultmember on
How about Champ? 🏅🏅🏅
damnhankees on
It happens so much in Chinese communities, like I’m personally sick of all the Wangs Huangs Angs with short A’s, like that’s never been how it’s said but it’s so commonplace that I know so many people who still go by the short A sounds even if they’re younger just because they know that’s what non-Chinese folk are used to hearing. And Lucy Liu has never been Lucy Loo either! It’s always been Lucy “Lew”
Impressive-Trash8699 on
Her friends realizing they’ve been saying her name wrong 👁️👄👁️
DahliaDarling14 on
as someone who also has immigrant parents i can’t count how many times i’ve had this *exact* same conversation before. the “well technically my name is [blank] and that’s how my parents pronounce it but my friends & those around me usually say it like [blank] so tbh i don’t really mind” is something i’ve said practically verbatim in the past haha
Gayfetus on
If you really want to get it right, make sure you apply the tones!
Unlike English, Mandarin is a tonal language, which can be a leeettle tricky. But English actually has tones, too, it’s just not as dependent on them to distinguish meaning. For instance, in English, you may raise the pitch of a word to convey a question, like “huh?” or “what?”
And actually, that’s pretty close to how you pronounce Liu! The “Li” part of the name starts at a lower pitch, maybe think of it as a “mi” in solfeggio. The “u” part is higher, at around “la” in solfeggio, and you just let your voice slide up the pitch naturally, like a slide whistle.
And if you really want to nail down the “u” part, it starts with your mouth a little wider, like you’re pronouncing the greeting “yo!” Then, near the end of that sound, you purse your lips a bit, so the “oh” sound of “yo” becomes more like “oooh”, as in like “ooze”, and then you cut it off.
Put it all together and you should be good!
NeiClaw on
Literally not one announcer called her “A-Lisa.” So glad she corrected that. I’m also glad she said her last name the correct way. That has always bothered me since Liú isn’t totally impossible to say. Same with Lucy Liu.
littlelovelyfish on
People not learning how to pronounce your name after being told multiple times…well, It’s the best litmus test to see if people care, pay attention to details, are a decent human….
18 Comments
Aw very easy to pronounce correctly, I hate how people are pressured to let it slide when their name is mispronounced
“People learned how to properly say Tchaikovsky”
– Uzo Aduba’s mother on how “difficult” her name is to pronounce.
👑
as an American without a bog standard “American” name I’ve had to correct people on my name my entire life and I’ll never stop. even my friends have to say my name correctly.
Ma’am, we aren’t doing this in 2026. Tell us how to say your name and make people say it.
I feel bad for ever saying it like the standard Alyssa! Ah-Lisa is not even hard 😭
Tell Jackie Wong! people were going so hard at him on this topic
I feel very validated right now finding out it’s pronounced A-lee-sa because that’s how I was saying it in my head until I heard everyone calling her Alyssa. It’s pronounced how it’s written! It’s not hard!
i mean, unless we are corrected, isnt it typical to pronounce names in the most common way?
I get it’s a thing but honestly I don’t super care if people pronounce my name wrong either. Like 3/4 people read it wrong and whenever I say it out loud nobody understands or can spell it. If I went with the more common pronunciation then more people would probably understand my name when I said it too. Solidly tempting lmao
My first name is very common in the US, especially the year I was born. I never had a problem finding the personalized keychain. When I was in high school working as a cashier at a fast food place, all of the cooks spoke only Spanish, no English. All of them had a difficult time pronouncing my name. The sounds in my name just are not commonly used in Latin American Spanish. It was easy to understand who they meant when saying my name, it was close enough to correct, I never bothered to try to get them to say it right.
I think that with the tonal aspect of the Chinese language it may be very difficult for people without experience with a language like that to replicate perfectly. So making a good faith attempt and saying Lee-oo instead of Loo may be the best that some people are able to consistently say.
It’s good that she’s being asked how to say it the right way, and it’s good that people want to learn it. If it’s still slightly off after that, I think we can let the person whose name it is decide if she’s satisfied.
How about Champ? 🏅🏅🏅
It happens so much in Chinese communities, like I’m personally sick of all the Wangs Huangs Angs with short A’s, like that’s never been how it’s said but it’s so commonplace that I know so many people who still go by the short A sounds even if they’re younger just because they know that’s what non-Chinese folk are used to hearing. And Lucy Liu has never been Lucy Loo either! It’s always been Lucy “Lew”
Her friends realizing they’ve been saying her name wrong 👁️👄👁️
as someone who also has immigrant parents i can’t count how many times i’ve had this *exact* same conversation before. the “well technically my name is [blank] and that’s how my parents pronounce it but my friends & those around me usually say it like [blank] so tbh i don’t really mind” is something i’ve said practically verbatim in the past haha
If you really want to get it right, make sure you apply the tones!
Unlike English, Mandarin is a tonal language, which can be a leeettle tricky. But English actually has tones, too, it’s just not as dependent on them to distinguish meaning. For instance, in English, you may raise the pitch of a word to convey a question, like “huh?” or “what?”
And actually, that’s pretty close to how you pronounce Liu! The “Li” part of the name starts at a lower pitch, maybe think of it as a “mi” in solfeggio. The “u” part is higher, at around “la” in solfeggio, and you just let your voice slide up the pitch naturally, like a slide whistle.
And if you really want to nail down the “u” part, it starts with your mouth a little wider, like you’re pronouncing the greeting “yo!” Then, near the end of that sound, you purse your lips a bit, so the “oh” sound of “yo” becomes more like “oooh”, as in like “ooze”, and then you cut it off.
Put it all together and you should be good!
Literally not one announcer called her “A-Lisa.” So glad she corrected that. I’m also glad she said her last name the correct way. That has always bothered me since Liú isn’t totally impossible to say. Same with Lucy Liu.
People not learning how to pronounce your name after being told multiple times…well, It’s the best litmus test to see if people care, pay attention to details, are a decent human….
Wow. I have been saying it wrong this whole time