How is Prius pronounced?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Robert Taylor, Mar 3, 2005.

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  1. Robert Taylor

    Robert Taylor New Member

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    My brother in the exurbs of Seattle received on of the very first locally delivered 2004 Prius in that area, taught me to say:

    prEEus

    The service manager at the local shop says:

    prEYEoos

    Now, is it correct to pronounce the "i" as an "e" as is done in Spanish, Italian and (I guess) maybe Latin?

    What have you heard?
     
    #1 Robert Taylor, Mar 3, 2005
  2. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    Pree-us
     
    #2 Frank Hudon, Mar 3, 2005
  3. tag

    tag Senior Member

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    Like Frank, I've only heard Pree-us.

    Your service manager must be Norwegian. Is his name Sven? Does he say "Uff-dah" frequently? See? There you have it.
     
    #3 tag, Mar 4, 2005
  4. Robert Taylor

    Robert Taylor New Member

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    No, I expect pure 100% unadulterated British Isles imported long ago Redneck. Country tunes play in the background, ya know?

    (I like Bluegrass but positively dispise what passes for country music for nearly three decades or so. In fact, the only thing on worthwhile is the Public Radio blues, classical and the "best of" 70/80's stations.)
     
    #4 Robert Taylor, Mar 4, 2005
  5. jrfaris

    jrfaris Member

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    Ok if that's the case, how do you pronounce the plural, Prii?
     
    #5 jrfaris, Mar 4, 2005
  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I've heard both. Pr-eye-us from those who haven't heard of it pronounced before, Pree-us for those who have. Frankly I thought it was pr-eye-us before I heard auto journalists say it. Same with So-lare-ra or So-la-ra
     
    #6 Tideland Prius, Mar 4, 2005
  7. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    Technically, Toyota refers to the multiple form as "Priuses", but I like "Prii" better. I pronounce it "Pre-eye".

    And Prius is "Pree-us
     
    #7 Danny, Mar 4, 2005
  8. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I've heard:
    *) "PrEEus"
    *) "PrEYEus"
    *) "What IS that?"
    *) "Where DO you plug it in?"
    *) "HOW much?"
    *) "YOU'RE driving."
    *) "It's a FAD."
     
    #8 TonyPSchaefer, Mar 4, 2005
  9. youngsirchuck

    youngsirchuck New Member

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    A couple I've heard that haven't been mentioned, yet.

    prEEoos
    prEYEoos
     
    #9 youngsirchuck, Mar 4, 2005
  10. guyweathersby

    guyweathersby New Member

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    I'm pretty sure that "prEEoos" is a Prius shaped breakfast cereal. Actually that sound pretty good.
     
    #10 guyweathersby, Mar 4, 2005
  11. guyweathersby

    guyweathersby New Member

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    Actually I'm not even sure which plural Toyota prefers. The head of the San Diego Prius Club says that Toyota says Prius is the preferred plural.
     
    #11 guyweathersby, Mar 4, 2005
  12. jimofdg

    jimofdg New Member

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    I pronounce it "Toyota hybrid." Makes the plural easy too, at least until there is more than one Toyota hybrid.

    I'm thinking of pronouncing it "price," just to annoy people in a passive-aggressive way.

    Too bad we can't agree on how to pronounce the binding force of atoms or the names of other countries.

    I'm not saying everybody should pronounce everything the same way. This is why people visit (and leave) London and Boston and even Alabama.
     
    #12 jimofdg, Mar 4, 2005
  13. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    I got Priuses from this press release when they donated some Prii to Yellowstone:

    "This past summer, Toyota donated four 2004 Priuses with Hybrid Synergy Drive to Yellowstone National Park Foundation."
     
    #13 Danny, Mar 4, 2005
  14. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Talk to our favorite Toyota exec, the one responsible for overseeing Prius. He says the plural for "Prius" is "Prius". I like that. We can hide our numbers that way, stealth like.

    And the pronounciation for Prius is PREE-US. Working on the upcoming DVD for Prius, I listened to several Toyota commericials for our favorite car. All of them pronounced that name that way. FREE-US from imported oil & pollution with PREE-US.
     
    #14 john1701a, Mar 4, 2005
  15. karmavore

    karmavore New Member

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    Myself, I'm not so sure. It makes us seem too much like "sheep".

    Brad :mrgreen:
     
    #15 karmavore, Mar 4, 2005
  16. t'rants

    t'rants New Member

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    I'm with that idea, that "Prius" is non-plurable much like "aircraft". Not that it's a Japanese word, I believe that's how Japanese nouns work, too.
     
    #16 t'rants, Mar 4, 2005
  17. hdrygas

    hdrygas New Member

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    My brother in law a classics major in college says you pronounce both i s.
     
    #17 hdrygas, Mar 4, 2005
  18. Potential Buyer

    Potential Buyer New Member

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    Prius is a Latin word, so there is one and only one way to pronounce it -- PREE-us. Anyone who calls it "Pry-us" or, worse, "Pry-oos", is dumb. :)

    The plural technically should be Priuses, but singular Latin words that end in -us have the plural -i, pronounced 'eye'. Examples are radius => radii (RAID - EEE - EYE), cactus => cacti, etc. So calling them Prii (PREE-EYE) is basically a joke. According to Google, "prius" means "first" in Latin. It's not a noun, which means that when it's used as a noun anyway, such as Toyota Prius, the plural would just be Priuses.
     
    #18 Potential Buyer, Mar 4, 2005
  19. karmavore

    karmavore New Member

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    OK, that's all well and good, but what about the possessive?

    Is it...
    "My Prius's mpg is better than your Hummer's."
    or
    "My Prius' mpg quintuples your Hummer's"?

    And what about the possessive plural?
    "Our five Priuses' roomy interiors got us to the energy fair using less gas than your one Hummer."
    or
    "Our five Prii's roomy interiors got us to the energy fair using less gas than your one Hummer."
    or
    "Our five Prius' roomy interiors got us the energy fair using less gas than your one Hummer."
    or
    "Why in Jesus' name did you drive a Hummer to the energy fair?"

    Which leads me to a related question...
    Do multiple nativity scenes then incorporate Jesi?

    My questions must be answered!!! :wink:

    Brad
     
    #19 karmavore, Mar 4, 2005
  20. wdfoto

    wdfoto New Member

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    Now that we all know how to say it, what does it mean?
     
    #20 wdfoto, Mar 4, 2005
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