# Pi (3.1416)



## Cracker Jack

Hello. I would like to know how you call in your languages the Greek symbol *p *pi (numerical value 3.1416), or the constant quantity that determines the area of a circle by multiplying it by the radius squared.

Can you please provide the pronunciation? Thanks in advance.


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## jester.

In German it is called Pi.

Pronounce the I like a Spanish I.


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## Kevin R

Pronounced "pie"   (as in apple pie)


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## lazarus1907

In Spanish is pronounced like in German: /pi/


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## Outsider

Portuguese: _pi_, pronounced as in Spanish.


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## YoshiYuki

Pi in french too. As in to pee ^_^


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## elroy

I never did math in Arabic but as far as I know it's pronounced as in English.


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## übermönch

In Russian it's as in German, Spanish & French, _pee._


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## jester.

Would you write it like *пи*?


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## linguist786

*Hindi:*

same word - [FONT=Gargi 1.2d]पाइ (pronounced the same)[/FONT]


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## übermönch

j3st3r said:
			
		

> Would you write it like *пи*?


Well, normally it would be written with the greek letter, but that is the correct transliteration. Bulgarian, Macedonian & Serbian should be the same. The Ukrainian & Byelorusian writing should be *пi*.


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## Whodunit

elroy said:
			
		

> I never did math in Arabic but as far as I know it's pronounced as in English.


 
According to Wikipedia, it should be spelled *باي*. which comes close to the English pronunciation for "pi". To determine what is meant, you could maybe say *باي رياضيات*.


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## Pivra

In Thai its pronounced like in English but transliterally its written PAY.  พาย


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## ukuca

In turkish we say "pi" or "pi sayısı" and it's pronounced like "pea" or "peanuts" etc.. But not like "pilot" or "pineapple"


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## tinkerbell0916

In Japanese, we say パイ
pronounced as the same as a "pie."


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## Outsider

It's interesting how many languages have adopted the English pronunciation. The word is originally Greek!


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## alby

In Croatian is Pi too

Nataša


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## übermönch

Outsider said:
			
		

> It's interesting how many languages have adopted the English pronunciation. The word is originally Greek!


The fact that the english pronounciation differs from the Greek name of the letter is already strange enough.


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## panjandrum

I had always assumed that the English pronunciation was copying the Greek.
What it's called in Greece?


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## Outsider

panjandrum said:
			
		

> I had always assumed that the English pronunciation was copying the Greek.
> What it's called in Greece?


It's pronounced "pea", as in Spanish, German, etc.



			
				übermönch said:
			
		

> The fact that the english pronounciation differs from the Greek name of the letter is already strange enough.


Not at all. It's part of a general phonetic change that English went through many centuries ago, turning stressed _ into the diphthong [ai]._


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## Whodunit

Outsider said:
			
		

> It's interesting how many languages have adopted the English pronunciation. The word is originally Greek!


 
The word is spelled "Pi", that's why the English just read the word the English way, which is like "pie". Otherwise it would have to be spelled "pee" eek: ) or "pea".

And since English is the dominant language in the world (not by native speakers, though!), many languages have adopted the pronunciation that has been around. It has been pronounced "pie". But it's interesting that languages like Arabic (that doesn't know a "p" sound) use the pronunciation "bye" for this Greek letter, indeed.


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## Cracker Jack

Thanks a lot for all your replies.


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## Josh_

Whodunit said:
			
		

> According to Wikipedia, it should be spelled *باي*. which comes close to the English pronunciation for "pi". To determine what is meant, you could maybe say *باي رياضيات*.


Yes, I can confirm that it is *باي *.  I found it in a dictionary that I have with the definition of:

الرمز π الذي يمثل النسبة بين طول محيط الدائرة وقطرها، أي ٣،١٤١٥٩٢٦٥

(The symbol π that represents the ratio between the length of the circumference of a circle and its diameter, i.e. 3.14159265.)


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## stargazer

lazarus1907 said:
			
		

> In Spanish is pronounced like in German: /pi/



... and in Slovenian


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## Encolpius

Hungarian: pí (like English pee )


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## kusurija

Symbol π (not  *p *! as it is Greek letter ) is in Czech written  π and pronounced pí - like English "pee" or "peanuts" etc.. But not like "pilot" or "pineapple".
It is also called Ludolfovo číslo.

In Lithuanian in the same way. 
(Ludolfo numeris)
Pronunciation transcribed in Lithuanian "pi", but symbol written  π .


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## Hakro

Finnish: pii (like English pee).


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## OneStroke

Chinese 圓周率 - yuanzhoulü (circle perimeter rate). In Cantonese, we usually use 'pi' (paai1) in speech though.


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## Tamar

In Hebrew it's פאי [pay] like the English pronunciation.


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## Nizo

En Esperanto *π* estas *pi*, la deksesa grafemo de la greka alfabeto.


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