• Blog
  • About
  • Tutorials
  • Prolost Store
  • Archive
    • Recent
    • Featured
    • All
  • Where to Begin?
  • Maschwikipedia
  • Contact
  • Comment Policy
  • Menu

Prolost

by Stu Maschwitz
  • Blog
  • About
  • Tutorials
  • Prolost Store
  • Archive
    • Recent
    • Featured
    • All
  • Where to Begin?
  • Maschwikipedia
  • Contact
  • Comment Policy
“They’re saying it wrong again.”

“They’re saying it wrong again.”

How do you pronounce “bokeh?”

October 30, 2019

“Boke,” often spelled “bokeh,” is a Japanese word for the shapes formed in, and perhaps also broadly the quality of, the out-of-focus areas in a photographed image.

Don’t pronounce this word “bokuh.”

There’s only one “e” sound in Japanese. The same one you find in sake and edimame. To a speaker of US English, it sounds like the e in “felt.”

So “bokay” isn’t exactly right either, although most Americans happily order “sah-kay” at a sushi restaurant. If you listen to a Japanese person pronounce sake, that’s also how they would say the end of boke.

I imagine the “eh” spelling of “bokeh” was intended to help English-speakers see and say this not-quite-soft, not-quite-long, e sound. But this backfired in the form of the “bokuh” pronunciation, which has no provenance, and sounds ugly.

It could be argued that, unlike sake, “bokeh” has become a “westernized” term, so I think it’s okay for English-speakers to arrive at a comfortable pronunciation. I suggest you pronounce it to rhyme with the way you say sake.

Prev / Next
Featured
Maxon One
Maxon One

Cinema 4D, Forger, Red Giant, Redshift, Universe, and ZBrush, all in one bundle.

Slugline
Slugline

Screenwriting for Mac, iPad, and iPhone

Prolost Store
Prolost Store

Apps, presets, and other goodies for filmmaking and photography.


Featured Post

Featured
Log is the “Pro” in iPhone 15 Pro
Oct 10, 2023
Log is the “Pro” in iPhone 15 Pro
Oct 10, 2023
Oct 10, 2023

Recent Posts

Featured
Cameras, Phones, and Log — What’s the Juice?
Feb 3, 2025
Cameras, Phones, and Log — What’s the Juice?
Feb 3, 2025
Feb 3, 2025
Kino: My New Favorite iPhone Video App
May 29, 2024
Kino: My New Favorite iPhone Video App
May 29, 2024
May 29, 2024
Apple’s “Let Loose” iPad Event was Shot on iPhone — With Panavision Lenses
May 9, 2024
Apple’s “Let Loose” iPad Event was Shot on iPhone — With Panavision Lenses
May 9, 2024
May 9, 2024
iPhone ProRes Log in Peru and Taiwan
Jan 30, 2024
iPhone ProRes Log in Peru and Taiwan
Jan 30, 2024
Jan 30, 2024
What I Want to Do in Apple Vision Pro
Jan 19, 2024
What I Want to Do in Apple Vision Pro
Jan 19, 2024
Jan 19, 2024
What Does and Doesn’t Matter about Apple Shooting their October Event on iPhone 15 Pro Max
Nov 7, 2023
What Does and Doesn’t Matter about Apple Shooting their October Event on iPhone 15 Pro Max
Nov 7, 2023
Nov 7, 2023