# How should I pronounce Tiefling?



## Bayuer

Is this pronounced Teefling like in Thief or Tahyfling like in Tie?


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## Foxman

Bayuer said:


> Is this pronounced Teefling like in Thief or Tahyfling like in Tie?




Teefling

Listen to it pronounced by WotC here:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UqFPujRZWo]YouTube - D&D 4th Edition: Tiefling & the Gnome[/ame]


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## Rafe

Foxman said:


> Teefling




Yeah, that's how I've always said it.  Forgot there was a WotC animation with it.


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## Foxman

Also check out the D&D podcast Ep. 29

D&D Podcast: Episode 29 (November 2008)

*@ 21:05* Rabbi asks: “How do you pronounce the following words: githyanki, otyugh, Sehanine, falchion, reagent, treant, eladrin?” (Bonus words: drow, bulette)


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## Danceofmasks

Yeah, but those pronunciations have got to be wrong because they're _American_!


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## Kordeth

It rhymes with fnord.


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## Goblyns Hoard

For anyone interested - tief (pronounced to rhyme with (coral) reef) is german for deep, so if you use that as the etymology then they are the deeplings.


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## DEFCON 1

Foxman said:


> *@ 21:05* Rabbi asks: “How do you pronounce the following words: githyanki, otyugh, Sehanine, falchion, reagent, treant, eladrin?” (Bonus words: drow, bulette)



I dunno what their answers were for this, but my pronounciations have always been:

GITH-yankee
AUGH-teh-yug
see-HA-neen
FAL-she-yun
REE-agent
TRAY-aunt
eh-LAA-drin
drow (rhymes with plow)
BULL-et (same as the gun ammo)

I'd be curious as to how many of mine are technically "correct".  I think my biggest perpetual mis-pronounciation is I always say "CHIM-er-ah", as opposed to some of my friends insisting it's pronounced "ky-MARE-ah".


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## Cam Banks

DEFCON 1 said:


> I'd be curious as to how many of mine are technically "correct".  I think my biggest perpetual mis-pronounciation is I always say "CHIM-er-ah", as opposed to some of my friends insisting it's pronounced "ky-MARE-ah".




I think in general you seem to be placing the emphasis on the first syllable when it's usually the second, but that's a common thing. Chimera really is pronounced ky-MARE-uh, but it looks as if it should be pronounced CHIM-er-ah. That's pretty much why people mispronounce game words, and if nobody corrects them, they don't have any reason to say it any other way.

Cheers,
Cam


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## Foxman

Bulette - I pronounce it Landshark.


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## Rafe

DEFCON 1 said:


> 1) GITH-yankee
> 2) AUGH-teh-yug
> 3) see-HA-neen
> 4) FAL-she-yun
> 5) REE-agent
> 6) TRAY-aunt
> 7) eh-LAA-drin
> 8) drow (rhymes with plow)
> 9) BULL-et (same as the gun ammo)




1) same
2) I say "OH-tee-ug"
3) I say "SAY-ah-neen"
4) Exactly as spelled:  Fal'chun
5) I say "Reegent" (like region with a 't')
6) I say "tree-ant" (said quickly, not like Tree . . . Ant)
7) same
8) same
9) same, though knowing some french doesn't help me in how I want to pronounce it:  Bu-LAY


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## Masquerade

I pronounce it like the word "tie" followed by the word "fling."  I don't particularly care whether it's the "official" pronunciation.


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## ShaggySpellsword

Wow, I pronounce alomst all of those differently.

gith-YANG-kee
OH-teh-YUG
SEH-ha-neen
FAL-she-yun (SAME)
ree-AY-gent
TREE-ent
ee-LAA-drin
drow (rhymes with plow) (SAME)
boo-LET


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## BoMbY

As "Tiefling" is derived from the German language, it should be pronounced like a German word (exactly like in the video). So the "Tie" sounds like "tee" or "tea" and than "fling".  "Tief" means something like "deep", and "-ling" means the same as in english (like in "Halfling" where the German word is "Halbling").


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## mattdm

Foxman said:


> *@ 21:05* Rabbi asks: “How do you pronounce the following words: githyanki, otyugh, Sehanine, falchion, reagent, treant, eladrin?” (Bonus words: drow, bulette)




I find it pretty funny that crazy made up D&D words like "reagent" and "falchion" made the list. I mean, how would anyone figure out how to pronounce those?


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## eamon

ShaggySpellsword said:


> Wow, I pronounce alomst all of those differently.
> 
> gith-YANG-kee
> OH-teh-YUG
> SEH-ha-neen
> FAL-she-yun (SAME)
> ree-AY-gent
> TREE-ent
> ee-LAA-drin
> drow (rhymes with plow) (SAME)
> boo-LET




Those are my pronunciations exactly!  Well, I'd write TREE-ant, but then an unstressed a is (almost?) identical to an unstressed e...  Reagent isn't such an odd word is it?  I'm fairly sure your pronunciation is the only correct one, as opposed to the one in the podcast.


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## Siberys

Here's how I've always pronounced these:

gihth-YONG-kee
OH-tyoog
SAY-ha-neen
fal-KWAN
ree-AY-jent
TREE-ent
ehl-AH-drin
drow (rhymes with plow; if it were "dro" it wouldn't have a w, imo...)
BOO-lay

Also, TAI-fling, lihtch, sah-WAY-gin, and SEER-ee.


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## Ulorian - Agent of Chaos

Siberys said:


> Here's how I've always pronounced these:
> 
> BOO-lay



Yeah, that's the way they pronounced it in the Q&A too, and that's just wrong!  The -ette word ending is from French, and is pronounced 'EHT', as in rhymes with 'wet'.

In French, you would pronounce it B-EU-LET (I don't think the EU sound really has an equivalent in English). I actually pronounce bulette as BEE-YOU-LET.

If you look at other English words with a similar construction (i.e. consonant - U - consonant - vowel) (e.g. puke, nuke, pule, mule). You can see how the U in bulette should be pronounced. Other words with a similar construction have a slightly different pronunciation (Luke, juke), so I can understand a pronunciation of BOO-LET.

But BOO-LAY? That's some serious mangling of the French language. That's almost as bad as people who pronounce coup de grace as COOP DEE GRAH instead of COO DEH GRAH-SS.


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## Ulorian - Agent of Chaos

I might as well put in my pronunciations, so people can make fun of me too:

gith-YANK-ee
OH-t-yug
SEH-ha-neen
FAL-shun (this is a real word, with two acceptable pronunciations: FAL-shun or FAL-chun falchion definition | Dictionary.com)
ree-AY-gent (this is a real word, and this is its only correct pronunciation reagent definition | Dictionary.com)
TREH-nt (rhymes with meant, leant)
eh-LAH-drin
drow (rhymes with cow, plow, now)
BEE-yoo-leht

TEEF-ling


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## Orcus Porkus

Also funny: Bulette is German for "Meatball".


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## Serphet

I've always said Tiefling Tief (tie-f) ling ;when two vowels follow each other, you pronounce the first one...


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## Ulorian - Agent of Chaos

Serphet said:


> I've always said Tiefling Tief (tie-f) ling ;when two vowels follow each other, you pronounce the first one...



Err.. what? English grammar has enough rules and contradictions without you conjuring up new ones out of thin air! How do you pronounce 'grief'? Or 'thief', 'relief', etc.?


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## ColonelHardisson

Foxman said:


> *@ 21:05* Rabbi asks: “How do you pronounce the following words: githyanki, otyugh, Sehanine, falchion, reagent, treant, eladrin?” (Bonus words: drow, bulette)




*githyanki* - gith-YANK-ee
*otyugh* - oh-tee-ugh
*Sehanine* - SAY-hah-neen
*falchion* - FAL-chee-un. I like the elegance of the "ee" sound in the middle, even though I know the pronunciation isn't exactly correct.
*reagent* - like "agent," but with a "re-" prefix.
*treant* - TREE-ant or TREE-ANT. Like "giant" (from which the word derives) but with TREE (with one "e" dropped when written) in in place of the "gi."
*eladrin* - ee-LAH-drin, but I'm beginning to like ELL-uh-drin more. The word is pretty durn close to Tolkien's name for his high elves, the Eldarin, so I'd guess the pronunciations of the two words would be similar. I just haven't checked the pronunciation of Tolkien's word.
*drow* - droh. That is, it rhymes with slow or foe.
*bulette* - BOO-lett or BYOO-lett. Occasionally bullet.


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## Engilbrand

Serphet said:


> I've always said Tiefling Tief (tie-f) ling ;when two vowels follow each other, you pronounce the first one...




The crazy thing about that is that the rule in English is the exact opposite. Usually. The fun thing about English is that we have a lot of instances that break the rules.

In German, an "ie" is an "ee" sound in English. Words are broken up in a certain way. It's more Teef-ling than Tee-fling. Not that there's much difference, but there ya go.


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## aurance

Rafe said:


> 9) same, though knowing some french doesn't help me in how I want to pronounce it:  Bu-LAY




FWIW, if you were a French speaker, you'd pronounce it "Bu-LET."


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## Serphet

Bulette

bulett (e at the end makes first vowel proocuned

"b-you'll" ett

or 

"b-you-lett"

focusing on merging the b and you, bu. Bulette almost sounds like beulet.

I'm not an eglish major or anything.. just breaking the word apart.


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## chitzk0i

Once I was in a game where the DM mentioned a bullet.  My brother and I both (separately) blinked and, in unison, said "Ohhh, a _byulette!_"


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## Infiniti2000

Siberys said:


> drow (rhymes with plow; if it were "dro" it wouldn't have a w, imo...)



 Of course, then, you pronounce slow, row, tow, etc. all the same?  Because they all have W's, too.  My opinion is that pronouncing them like cow is simply degrading.  If I were a bad-ass dark elf, I wouldn't want to rhyme with cow, or sow.


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## Infiniti2000

Serphet said:


> I've always said Tiefling Tief (tie-f) ling ;when two vowels follow each other, you pronounce the first one...



 You must get some funny looks, then, when you talk about thieves.


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## evilgenius8000

It's teef-ling (Germanic root) and droh (Scottish mythological race, akin to the Nordic Svartalfar).


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## Ulorian - Agent of Chaos

evilgenius8000 said:


> droh (Scottish mythological race, akin to the Nordic Svartalfar).



Yes, the origin is as you say, but virtually all online sources I've seen give two possible pronunciations (rhymes with dough or cow), both for the mythological and D&D usages of the word.


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## eamon

Engilbrand said:


> The crazy thing about that is that the rule in English is the exact opposite. Usually. The fun thing about English is that we have a lot of instances that break the rules.



Heck, they're hardly worth calling rules.  More like "those helpful guidelines that aren't used"...


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## Serphet

Infiniti2000 said:


> You must get some funny looks, then, when you talk about thieves.




it may also explain why I can never spell things like thieves or klein, or stein.... hum...

I still stand by my "bue-let" pronunciation.


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## eamon

Serphet said:


> it may also explain why I can never spell things like thieves or klein, or stein.... hum...
> 
> I still stand by my "bue-let" pronunciation.



Then my bu-LET will crush you!


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## Lokathor

Tiefling uses a hebrew H sound and a japanese R. In IPA you'd spell it "george".


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## Infiniti2000

Serphet said:


> it may also explain why I can never spell things like thieves or klein, or stein.... hum...



  Still, I find it humorous that people like at these two words side-by-side and pronounce them differently: thief-ling, tiefling.



Serphet said:


> I still stand by my "bue-let" pronunciation.



 I actually concur with that pronunciation.


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## Set

My current character pronounces 'tiefling' as 'Hellblood.'

When a 'tiefling' asked about my character calling him a hellblood, he told him that since he was neither a thief or a halfling, he wasn't going to call him a 'thiefling.'  He refused to listen to any explanations about the words 'tiefling' or 'thiefling,' since common wasn't his native language and they all sounded the same to him.

He went on to explain that in his native language, hellbloods were called seuhtahk, meaning hell-fire-heart.  The character has gotten used to being called Seuhtahk.


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## Duncan Haldane

For the OP's question, I too pronounce it like Thief with a ling on the end.

But I've always pronounced Drow to rhyme with Bow.


Duncan


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## Infiniti2000

Duncan Haldane said:


> But I've always pronounced Drow to rhyme with Bow.



 Ah, so yer a conformist.


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## On Puget Sound

mattdm said:


> I find it pretty funny that crazy made up D&D words like "reagent" and "falchion" made the list. I mean, how would anyone figure out how to pronounce those?




They are not made up; I learned about reagents in 7th grade chemistry class and I'm pretty sure "falchion" is in Shakespeare somewhere.  Per dictionary.com:


> fal⋅chion   /ˈfɔltʃən, -ʃən/ Show Spelled Pronunciation  [fawl-chuhn, -shuhn] Show IPA Pronunciation
> 
> –noun 1. a broad, short sword having a convex edge curving sharply to the point.
> 2. Archaic. any sword.
> 
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Origin:
> 1275–1325; ME fauchoun (with l restored in 16th cent.) < OF fauchon < VL *falciōn-, s. of falciō, deriv. of L falx, s. falc- sickle






> re⋅a⋅gent   /riˈeɪdʒənt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation  [ree-ey-juhnt] Show IPA Pronunciation
> 
> –noun Chemistry. a substance that, because of the reactions it causes, is used in analysis and synthesis.
> 
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Origin:
> 1790–1800; re(act) + agent; cf. act




Of course, D&D does play fast and loose with the meanings.  Our falchion is a "great scimitar", not a short sword, and our reagents are magical, not chemical.


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## On Puget Sound

eamon said:


> Heck, they're hardly worth calling rules.  More like "those helpful guidelines that aren't used"...




"I ought to plough the land over by the slough, although it's tough going and makes me cough."

(for non-English speakers, the pronunciations are ott, plow, sloo, althoh, tuff, and coff)

English doesn't borrow from other languages; English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over, and sifts through their pockets for loose grammar.


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## Ulorian - Agent of Chaos

On Puget Sound said:


> They are not made up; I learned about reagents in 7th grade chemistry class and I'm pretty sure "falchion" is in Shakespeare somewhere.



He knows; that comment seems to have gotten past your tongue-in-cheek-o-meter .


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