# Cumin - How to Pronounce



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I have heard cumin pronounced like _*coo*_min and like _*que*_min. Which is correct, or is there another pronumciation?


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Every pro I've ever heard pronounces it coo min, Shel. 

When I was young, and didn't know better, I called it come in. And I've heard a few people still pronounce it that way.


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## dillbert (Jul 2, 2008)

the origin of the word is probably not English <g> so all bets are off.

ref "things you find on the web" - here's an 'authority' that sez: comein
Cumin


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## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

So is that coo meen, or come een?


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## chefboyofdees (Nov 11, 2007)

:crazy::crazy::crazy::beer::talk::lol:


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

I tend to agree with those who espouse the "coo-men" pronunciation. It's a Spanish word, isn't it? I believe the letter /u/ is pronounced "oo". 

Please correct me if I'm wrong!

What is the word for 'cumin' in the languages of the Indian sub-continent? They also use this spice, but I doubt they call it 'cumin' at home.

Incidentally, my mom (who taught Spanish) pronounced it "cue-men".


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## madbakerwoman (Jul 14, 2008)

I always pronounced it _cuemen, _but my mom always prounounced it _coomen, _and my foods & nutrition leader growing up always pronounced it _coomen_ as well. She was spanish...so *shrugs* hahaa

I think they are both right, but what do I know.


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## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

A rose by any other name....


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## lindat (Nov 11, 2006)

My mom, who grew up in a Mexican household, used the Spanish "coo me no" pronounciation. In later years, she began to use the English version, pronouncing it "coo men." I've always pronounced it "coo men."


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

As I recall, the plant, the whole seeds and the ground up powder from the seeds all have different names. I use the coo-men pronunciation, but then again I get annoyed when people talk about q-pons instead of coo-pons, or those folks who think there is an 'x' in espresso.

mjb.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

There is no single standard American English pronounciation; a number of variations are allowable; e.g., KUH-muhn, KOO-muhn, KYOO-muhn, KYOO-min, etc. Old English was pronounced KYE-men. The Latin is pronounced koo-MEE-newm (_cuminum_); French is KO-meen (_comin_); and FWIW, Spanish is ko-MEE-no (_comino_).

The word itself is not Spanish, or Latin for that matter. Modern Spanish derives from Latin, and off all the modern Latinate languages is the most like Latin. You may thank the Visigoths. _Muchisimas gracias, Visigothos._

Returning to the term "cumin," however pronounced, it appears to have derived from an old middle eastern language -- ancient Hebrew perhaps, kah-MOAN (כמון), or perhaps an older, mesapotamian ur-language.

If your Mexican mom pronounced it KOO-meen, she had some nefarious mom-type reason having nothing to do with her native language, or she was from ancient Rome and never let on. Moms are not only very devious, they think it's funny.

BDL


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## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

Okay now, by rough estimate we are up to about 15 different pronunciations for this one simple spice name 'cumin'. I don't spend that much time figuiring out how to avoid using it in the food I cook. :look:


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Ain't it fun trying to explain pronounciations ( <-----now that word is hard in itself) in the written media? 

I agree with Coo-men.

Just pls...nobody...call it comin'

Brings all sorts of other things to mind....apart from being wrong 

DC


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

I say coomin.

Reminds me of a story a friend told me about culinary school.
His instructor was talking about anise, and how to pronounce it.
He said "you can say a-niece or an-iss, but never the 3rd pronunciation".


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

My Mother pronounces it KEE-mee-no... but that's just cause she's greek and that's how all greeks say it.

I say que-min but now I will switch and start calling it coomin just for the heck of it why not.

More importantly, how do you use cumin in your cooking? My favorite is to dump lots of it in my vegetarian stuffed cabbage, or add a pinch to my stuffed grape leaves.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

How do I use it? It would be simpler to list how I don't. 

I'm a big fan of Mid-eastern and North African cuisines, and would be absolutely lost without it. 

It also makes a wonderful vinaigrette that goes particularly well with fruit salads, such as orange & red onion. 

And..... well, if I get started I'll be typing all day. :lips:


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## dannyt223 (Oct 7, 2008)

The correct pronunciation of cumin is ka_min and is sometimes spelled cummin.
The English "cumin" derives from the French "cumin", which was borrowed indirectly from Arabic "كمون" _Kammon_ via Spanish _comino_ during the Arab rule in Spain in the 15th century.-wikipedia


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

How about "jeera"? :smiles:


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

huh?  Please explain


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## tessa (Sep 9, 2007)

jeera is the indian name for it 


do i get a prize :lol::lol::lol:


we pronounce it quemin here in nz


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

As long as no one _jeers_ at you ...:lol:


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## mehtalalady (Sep 13, 2014)

Cumin is one of my favorite spices. Growning up in the Northwoods of Upper Midwest of the United States, I only heard it pronounced, Que-men.  It was not until I was an adult and moved to the West Coast that I heard someone use the term, Coo-min. I had to ask what they were talking about.  I hated hearing it pronounced that way, it just seemed so wrong.  But as I've heard more and more pronounce it Coo-min and Come-In, I've learned to accept it pronounced which ever way they want.  I still prefer Que-men.  I also hate it when espresso is pronounced with an 'x' in it, or people say 'Coopons' instead of 'Coupons'.


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

For any pronounciation questions:

http://de.forvo.com/


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## berndy (Sep 18, 2010)

And I all it  Koohmeen


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Mehtalalady said:


> Cumin is one of my favorite spices. Growning up in the Northwoods of Upper Midwest of the United States, I only heard it pronounced, Que-men. It was not until I was an adult and moved to the West Coast that I heard someone use the term, Coo-min. I had to ask what they were talking about. I hated hearing it pronounced that way, it just seemed so wrong. But as I've heard more and more pronounce it Coo-min and Come-In, I've learned to accept it pronounced which ever way they want. I still prefer Que-men. I also hate it when espresso is pronounced with an 'x' in it, or people say 'Coopons' instead of 'Coupons'.


Huh? I didn't know there was more than one way to ptobounce coupons.


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## user2112 (Nov 8, 2014)

Here is a link to a discussion by some bonafide word experts:

http://www.waywordradio.org/cumin/


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

User2112, I was just about to mention "A Way with Words."  It's one of my favorite radio shows and they just had this discussion the other week with no real consensus.


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## luc_h (Jun 6, 2007)

Unless I don't read this right, that's not how it's pronounced in French. I can't find the correct phonetic spelling to demonstrate though.

the French and English origin is definitely closely related because it's written exactly the same way in both languages

I found this if you want to hear it

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-french/cumin

Check out how long the word is in Vietnamese...


user2112 said:


> Here is a link to a discussion by some bonafide word experts:
> 
> http://www.waywordradio.org/cumin/


great reference!

Luc H.


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

Oh boy, here we go. Why does there have to be one way to pronounce this? Tomato, tomahto....

I grew up with "quemen" and also "baa'zil" for the herb from which pesto is made, not "bay'zil". That last is probably because we had Greek neighbors who gave us seeds from their home village and called it by its Greek name (vasiliko) with a soft a.

Enjoy using it and don't worry about it.[emoji]128522[/emoji]


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

I think I have been watching too many cooking shows on my computer late at night.

I used to call them SHALL-ots, now I call them sha-LOTS.

mjb.


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

As long as we know what each other is talking about, that's what matters. Right?

I thought pu-loww was right and then I heard pee-laff. I just accepted it. Latin turned into Spanish, Portuguese, French, and others. Proto-Indo-European goes back farther. In India, there are hundreds of languages, and there's a little bit you can understand of each if you know one. I found that fascinating, really!


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## rick jazz (Mar 14, 2015)

I've heard it both ways as well. According to this video, both are correct:


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## reality check (Jul 23, 2015)

It's "pronUnciation.


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## simken7771 (Apr 20, 2017)

Firstly - let us establish we are looking at English enunciation or pronunciation.

Cumin or Cummin in English (old English Cymen) is pronounced as Kamin - that is the Cu as Ca as in cat. It is based on Latin word of original Hebrew or Arabic. Different languages use various pronunciations but Oxford English Dictionary and Macquarie in Australia follow the above  guide. The on line Oxford Dictionary provide audio example. I know celebrity chefs try to sound French or pretentious and so they often use the softer Cu (perhaps they are afraid it sounds too much like vulgar slang otherwise!!) - hypocritical seeing they use really "Blue" language when angry! or at least some do. We should not get hung up on words with food - more important to enjoy the applications and experiments.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

This is like asking how to pronounce emu.  There are at least 5 ways.  The important thing is everyone knows what you're talking about.


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