Proper Pronunciation of "Gyro"

Totally Judy

Totally Judy

Joined
Dec 3, 2000
Messages
4,347
Can anyone tell me the real and true pronunciation of "Gyro?" I had my first Gyro in Denver over 20 years ago and was told that it was pronounced something like "Year-O." Don't know if that's correct.

Of course everyone around here always pronounces it "gyro" as in "gy-ro."

I prefer to pronounce what I am ordering correctly.

So.. A little help?
 
If you're talking about the sandwich-like thing, I'm pretty sure it's G(like ghost)EE-row.
 
Gina said:
Its pronounced, YEE-roh. I work with a Greek woman, so I know for sure.
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Thanks, Gina! A burger place changed hands recently and the new owners serve Gyros. I'd love to try one. I always feel funny trying to order a gyro because either I am pronouncing it correctly or incorrectly, or else the person taking the order doesn't have a clue how it is pronounced except for the "gy-ro" pronunciation and I have to change my order to a "gy-ro" if I want one.

So now I can order a "Yee-roh." Awesome.
 
That's the problem, most waitstaff don't know the right pronunciation, so I've gotten a few blank stares when ordering. They're damn tasty though, so its worth it. And hey, free Greek lesson for them, courtesy of me. :D
 
It's pronounced doh-nair in Canada. Donairs (doner kebab), gyros, and shawarma all share the same origin. Taste great but don't leave a half eaten one in the wastebasket in a closed hotel room on a hot day after an all-night Halifax pub crawl - you could wake up asphyxiated; or wish you had been. Toxic stuff them donairs and gyros........ladle on the zatziki and chow down!!! :thumbup:





:D
j
 
I love a good gyro!! Yummy!! This thread is making me drool this morning.
 
It's pronounced Year-Oh. Never order a jie-roh because that is Greek for "please urinate on my sandwich."
 
Where I am from, South Australia, it is actually spelled yiros, pronounced like year-oss. According to Wikipedia, the year-oh/year-oss pronounciation is more correct.
 
[sigh] I miss good gyros. Haven't been able to find any good Greek food since we got to TX.

:(


B.
 
History of Gyro Sandwich

Gyro (yee-roh) - A Greek sandwich specialty. A proper Greek gyro is made with meat cut off a big cylinder of well-seasoned lamb or lamb and beef. This meat is on a slowly rotating vertical spit the name gyro, implying the circular spinning motion of a gyroscope). The sandwich maker slices off strips of the warm meat when the sandwich is ordered; heats pita bread on a griddle or grill, and then serves the meat on the bread, topped with the sauce, and usually garnished with lettuce and tomato.

Gyro is probably the most often mispronounced food name. Even its fans usually do not get the pronounced correctly - whether it is mispronounced as "jee-rohs," "jai-rohs," "gee-rohs," The correct Greek pronunciation is “yee-rohs.”
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Gyro.jpg

Linda Stradley, What's Cooking America
 
I used to sell the wholesale product. The kind that fits on the machine/cooker. Also sold it in five pound blocks and five pound cooked and sliced. All were frozen. Pronounce like "hero"
 
djeeroh.( suggested way to pronounce it printed on the "Kronos" posters in many Greek restaurants ) I too have struggled with how to pronounce it correctly, and have many Greek friends who prefer it said in that way.
Having said that, we live in America, and pronounce many words from other countries as we read them, or mimic them from others. We speak English here, and it is inevitable some words from other counties will evolve here into bastardized versions. It is part of living in a "melting pot" society. Reading the posts above supports this.
So, it is great you want to pronounce the word "correctly". Learn to read and speak the Greek language, and do so. But don't fret if the waitress gives you a dumb stare because you choose to insert a properly pronounced Greek word into an English sentence.
 
Bumppo nailed it. The problem is, a Greek "g" before a front vowel (i, y, or e) isn't quite like anything in English. It's a sort of harsh "y" sound. You're not going to convince every Americanized Greek, let alone every non-Greek American, however you try to pronounce it. :)
 
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