How To Pronounce

[jaycat]

Hi, really basic question, do you pronounce Betta-

1- as in better, or

2- as in beater

Getting my first one on saturday. He's deep crimson, lovely fish.

Thanks

 

[krisfnj]

You pronounce it "bay - tah"

It's "betta" like the greek letter. Good luck. They have big personalities, and you are likely to get very attached to him. Take care of him!

 

[ibbledibble]

You pronounce it "bay - tah"

It's "betta" like the greek letter. Good luck. They have big personalities, and you are likely to get very attached to him. Take care of him!

this is incorrect. its pronounced more like better, Bet - A . lots of people pronounce it like beta, but they are wrong.

 

[monica]

ibbledibble is correct. It is pronounced betta, like to bet on something then A.

 

[jaycat]

Thank you

 

[ibbledibble]

here is a copy of my post on an earlier topic regarding this. lots of examples

I have never heard anyone pronounce it as anything except for like the greek letter. I've lived all over the US and have only heard this pronunciation for at least 15 years. What gives?

You have heard other people pronounce it incorrectly, its as simple as that. evidence provided below.

Name

There is frequently much confusion in terminology regarding these fish. Siamese fighting fish, B. splendens, is frequently sold in the United States simply as "betta", and fish fanciers are often unaware that, as of 2006, around 65 species are classified in the genus Betta. A further source of confusion is that while the generic name Betta is italicized and capitalized, when used as a common name it is usually not capitalized;[4] the common name of Betta pugnax, for example, is thus Penang betta.

The name Betta (or betta) is pronounced /ˈbɛtə/.[4] (That is, the first part is the same as the English word bet.) By confusion with the name of the Greek letter beta, the name is often (erroneously) pronounced /ˈbeɪtə/ in American English, and is even often misspelled with one t. The name of the genus is completely unrelated to that of the Greek letter, however, being derived from a local language in Thailand ikan bettah.

Some facts about the betta ...
Betta (pronounced BET-uh, not BAY-tuh)

Beta Fish?
The names Beta Fish, Fighting Beta Fish, and Siamese Beta Fish are often seen, but Beta is a misspelling of the word Betta, which in turn comes from the scientific name Betta splendens. The word Betta is a phonetic spelling of the word used by the people that live in Betta fish's natural habitat.

Customer Comments

I've been a Betta breeder for nearly 24 years. It makes me nuts when I hear and see the name "Betta" spelled and pronounced wrong. Your site has Betta spelled wrong all over it. You have it spelled "Beta". This is a common spelling error when folks are mispronouncing the name.

The spelling error comes when folks say "bait-tuh", instead of correctly pronpuncing it "Bet-tuh" Please correct the spelling mistakes, as you are only fueling this all too common error.

AE: It's always just the same familiar long E sound as it is in "Caesar" or "encyclopaedia." That includes the Latin feminine possessive ending: "alumnæ" is "a-LUM-nee." "Edith's Betta" is Betta edithæ "BETT-uh (not 'BAY-tuh' by the way) EE-dith-ee." Yes, you've heard different. But the Skeptical Aquarist knows.

oh, and i also learned this year "Betta" is pronounced like "Feta" cheese!!! (not "bay-ta", it's "bet-ta"

i was corrected over the phone by my transhipper Linda Olson

How is "betta" pronounced?

The correct pronunciation of "betta" is "bet-tah" and not like the second letter of the Greek alphabet, beta, or "bay-tah".

Is it BETA or BETTA?

The Greek letter ß (pronounced BAY-TUH) is not the same as the belontiid (anabantoid) labyrinth fish which occurs naturally throughout Southeast Asia. That is the fish of the genus Betta (pronounced BET-UH). It was 1909 when C. Tate Regan named Betta splendens. There are probably very few people around today who knew Regan or how he pronounced the generic name. However, among ichthyologists today, the name is pronounced with a short “e” rather than as a long “a”.

Betta Not Beta — And 4 Other Betta Fish Facts

Here are the top 5 things you may not know about our favorite tropical fish:

1. It’s a Betta Fish, not a Beta Fish

Beta is the 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet. Betta is the beautiful Siamese Fighting Fish swimming gloriously in your 10-gallon (minimum) aquarium. “Beta” is pronounced “bay-tuh.” “Betta” is pronounced “Bet-Tuh.”

Got it? Good.

I could go on,(there are hundreds of mentions of this online) but i'm sure that everybody has got the message by now!
Answers.com has the same information as Wikipedia, but has the added bonus of having a word tutor. click on the picture of a speaker and it will say the word to you.
So if you now use the correct pronunciation and correct your friends and family, maybe soon everybody will say it correctly!

 

[stang1]

Great bit of info Ibbledibble!

 

[liz2]

I dunno how it is pronouynced but I aint bovvered they just beautiful fish!

 

[stang1]

I dunno how it is pronouynced but I aint bovvered they just beautiful fish!

 

[jaycat]

Thank you, thank you, thank you,

 

[OldMan47]

I've only recently started hearing beta and it is also one of my pet peaves. It feels like the lfs has been invaded by imbeciles until I stop and realize that where I live people have a bad enough accent without forcing them to pronounce two words differently. Maybe they think the fish is a new trial model llike beta software would be. Maybe they have just heard beta in that context too often to realize that two words can exist and actually require different pronunciation. I don't really know why they do it but I do know I can't listen to it.

 

[Amunet]

I've always said it "bay-tah" and I'll always say it that way. I know it's supposed to be the other way, but meh.. I don't care and I don't think it's a big deal.



Just b/c people say it differently doesn't make them "imbeciles" oldman. That's very insulting.

 

[nemosworld]

i've always pronounced it as beta (as in the greek letter) but it's supposed to be pronounced like bet-tuh...according to what i know about english and spelling anyways

 

[andy_j]

I pronounce it "fighter" or "Siamese fighting fish".....i absolutely hate the word "Betta" and refuse to use it