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
- Title (website): “nginx”. Publisher: NGINX. Accessed: 2025-02-26T23:25Z. URI: https://nginx.org/en/.
- §“nginx”. ¶1.
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
En Guh Inks
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
1000% I say gif too, like gift. If you wanted it pronounced like “jiff” then you should have spelled it with a J.
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”)
This surprised me too. But that was in 2012 😂
Oh boy - finally a modern internet nerd argument equivalent to the pronunciation of GIF!
The correct way is njinx because enginex is a dumb spelling and is too much like twitter
And I will always pronounce SQL as “squeal”
I say PSQL as Pee Sequel
My brain first interpreted SQL as ‘squirrel’ and that now refuses to relinquish its claim as default pronunciation in my mind.
genius
I still say it this way in my head…
That’s great actually!
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.
Wait, so this isn’t a testosterone supplement?
When this baby hits 200rps, you’re gonna get some hairs on your chest
am i the only one who thought it was nyuh-inks
I’ve never heard it pronounced any other way than “engine x”.
I’ve never heard it pronounced. Which is why I also thought it was “n-jinx”
nyuh-inks
When I first encountered it, it was by hearing it. It took longer than it probably should have to recognize that when people talked about “engine x”, they meant “in-jinks”
I heard it spoken first as well, but I ended up seeing it in text form not long after. I think it would have been more confusing if that hadn’t been the era of internet companies thinking they were clever if they dropped a letter (usually a vowel).
Make me
I thought it was pronounced N-G-N-X
Where did the I go?
To be or not to be, that is the question
Where did I come from?
NGNX, the other tetragrammaton.
Although I’m Jewish, so I should probably write it N-NX.
Ha! There’s probably some other layer of theology there when you consider that that G stands for “Gine” pronounced like “Djinn.”
I’m OOTL.
That is the protagonist from the (IMHO excellent) movie Equilibrium. He describes himself as a “tetragrammaton cleric.” Prior to your comment, I didn’t know the first word had any actual real world meaning, so that’s where my mind went when I saw you use it. (Apologies if this is disrespectful to the intent of the word.)
As an interesting side note, supposedly that movie is what got Christian Bale cast as Batman.
Sounds cool, will add to the watch list.
(Apologies if this is disrespectful to the intent of the word.)
I’m hella atheist, for the record, so no worries. Any actual Jewish practice was a few mothers ago, but mentioning it added both humour and another hint for people who know the concept but not the word.
Equilibrium is a really boring movie. Imagine if The Matrix’s fight scenes were centered around a gunfighter whose primary strategy is to stand in one spot and that doing so was a plot point and all the neat plot points of The Matrix were replaced with a plot about not feeling emotions.
Feel nothing, stand in one spot. Movie done.
As always, first impressions count. There is no way I’m starting to call it engine x now, except for fun.
I’ve done a semi-exception in the case of Xitter. I like this new name Elon chose because it brings the possiblity of playful sounds. Same goes to Xitler.
In Chinese, “X” makes a “sh” sound.
Take from that what you will.
That’s the point…
Not everyone knows that though.
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
Putting the gin in Nginx.
