this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2025
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nginx ("engine x") is an HTTP web server, reverse proxy, content cache, load balancer, TCP/UDP proxy server, and mail proxy server. […] [1]

I still pronounce it as "n-jinx" in my head.

References

  1. Title (website): "nginx". Publisher: NGINX. Accessed: 2025-02-26T23:25Z. URI: https://nginx.org/en/.
    • §"nginx". ¶1.
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[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I think software name pronunciation discussions are so hilariously absurd that I sometimes purposefully vocalise nginx as “Nuhh Ginks” just to put a hat on it

[–] ILikeBoobies 2 points 2 hours ago

En Guh Inks

[–] [email protected] 26 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I laughed out loud when I first learned that imgur is supposed to be pronounced as "imager'... well you fuckin chose the wrong combination of letters for that didn't ya

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 hours ago

1000% I say gif too, like gift. If you wanted it pronounced like “jiff” then you should have spelled it with a J.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 hours ago

https://kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/SillySounds/english.ogg (from back when many english speakers were still insistent that the i in Linux should be pronounced "eye")

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 hours ago

This surprised me too. But that was in 2012 😂

[–] [email protected] 26 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

And I will always pronounce SQL as “squeal”

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 hours ago

I say PSQL as Pee Sequel

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

My brain first interpreted SQL as 'squirrel' and that now refuses to relinquish its claim as default pronunciation in my mind.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 hours ago

I still say it this way in my head...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 12 hours ago

That's great actually!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

I've always pronounced it "In-jen-iks". I blame Jurassic Park and it's fictional biotech company InGen, but it does kinda also sound like "eugenics". But I dunno man, if you want everyone to pronounce your software a specific way maybe spell it in a manner where the pronunciation is more obvious? Just a thought.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 hours ago

Oh boy - finally a modern internet nerd argument equivalent to the pronunciation of GIF!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 hours ago

The correct way is njinx because enginex is a dumb spelling and is too much like twitter

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Wait, so this isn't a testosterone supplement?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

When this baby hits 200rps, you’re gonna get some hairs on your chest

[–] [email protected] 25 points 16 hours ago (4 children)

I've never heard it pronounced any other way than "engine x".

[–] [email protected] 15 points 12 hours ago

I've never heard it pronounced. Which is why I also thought it was "n-jinx"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 hours ago
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[–] [email protected] 10 points 14 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

am i the only one who thought it was nyuh-inks

[–] [email protected] 1 points 57 minutes ago

No ^[1]^.

References

  1. Type: Comment. Author: @Space@[email protected]. Publisher: [Type: Post. "TIL that "nginx" is pronounced "engine-x", and not "n-jinx"". Author: "Kalcifer" @[email protected]. Publisher: "Programmer Humor" [email protected]. sh.itjust.works. Lemmy. Published: 2025-02-26T23:27:35Z. URI: https://sh.itjust.works/post/33487588.]. Published: 2025-02-27T00:18:34Z. Accessed: 2025-02-28T06:38Z. URI: https://sh.itjust.works/post/33487588/16948274.

    I always heard it as /ŋiŋks/ in my mind

[–] [email protected] 17 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

I thought it was pronounced N-G-N-X

[–] [email protected] 3 points 12 hours ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 12 hours ago

To be or not to be, that is the question

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (6 children)

NGNX, the other tetragrammaton.

Although I'm Jewish, so I should probably write it N-NX.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 18 hours ago (4 children)

As always, first impressions count. There is no way I'm starting to call it engine x now, except for fun.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 19 hours ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 12 hours ago

I can't read no, I can't read my butterface~

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

I always pronounced it engine-x (fluent as one word) but never thought of it meaning engine lol

n gin x -> en gin ex -> "enginex" spoken, nginx thought

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 22 hours ago (7 children)
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[–] [email protected] 11 points 19 hours ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 7 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

If you want people to pronounce your project name correctly you should spell it that way. Having a FAQ on pronunciation means you've messed up and lost already. Want it to be called "Engine X"? Call it "Engine X".

My favourite is SAP not wanting people to call it Sap but to spell it out S.A.P. Well sorry, but it's a CVC word, literally the first kind of word everyone learns.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

even a dash, ngin-x, would do it really

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