A few years ago when nobody had really heard of Asus, the folks who had just kind of assumed the company name was pronounced AY-suss. It turned out we were wrong, and company officials told us a few years go that it should be pronounced ah-SOOS.

So for the past three years or so, I’ve been posting YouTube videos where I dutifully refer to Eee PC netbooks and other products from the company as uh-SUSE products — despite the angry YouTube commenters who tell me I’m doing it wrong. Of course there will always be angry YouTube commenters around to say that, even if you post a video of how you tie your shoes, cross the street, or inhale and exhale. But in this case, it looks like they may be right: Asus has issued another edict, and this time the company says the brand name should be pronounced AY-soos.

In other words, it’s not quite the pronunciation we all assumed… and it’s not the one I and other journalists have been working with for the past few years. Great.

What’s more, the company says AY-suse is supposed to sound like the tail end of “pegasus.” It doesn’t.

Whatever. I think I’m just going to start referring to everything from Asus as “that new thing from the company that makes the Eee PC products.” At least I’m pretty sure I know how to pronounce those words.

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17 replies on “Oh great, Asus gives us yet another official pronunciation for its name”

  1. Who cares what it sounds like, they make the best equipment I’ve ever owned. One laptop is over 10 years old and still cranking every bit as fast as it did when it was new. The other 3 are youngters by comparison and I’ve never had a problem.

    Years ago consumers had no idea what an ASUS was, but prior to making their own branded PC”s their motherboards and assorted parts were being used by almost every computer manufacturer…

  2. I guess it basically depends on how one pronounces the name ‘Pegasus’ since that’s where the name ‘Asus’ is derived from .

    If one only knows how to say ‘Pegasus’ the American way , then one will only be capable of saying ‘Asus’ the American way . However , if one recognises that ‘Pegasus’ is not an American but a Greek name , then one will be able to pronounce it in the intended Greek form . If one can cognitively grasp this concept & the association between these 2 words , that would effectively eliminate all confusion about pronunciation . no need for further debate .

    Simple example : if you’re American & your mom names you John , then you’re John whether you’re in NY , Tijuana or Beijing , period . You’re not John in NY , Hohn in Tijuana , or Yue Han in Beijing . There’s no Greek way to pronounce an American name so there shouldn’t be an American way to pronounce a Greek name .

  3. Now I’ll definitely be calling it AY-suss again like we did more than 10 years ago; it just makes the most sense.

  4. Ah, but is it said “e” “e” “e” or just “e”? If it is “e” is it a quick “e” or an elongated “eee”?

    😉

  5. I recall reading that when Hyundai was about to enter the North American car market, it surveyed folks in the USA and Canada about how they pronounced the company name. Hyundai adopted for North American advertising the pronunciation that people there imagined was correct.

    1. IIRC, when the Hyundai Pony was introduced to Canada in the early 1980s, the newspaper ads emphasized that “Hyundai” rhymed with “June day”. That pronunciation seems to have faded away.

  6. Problem with white people and Western countries is that they think they know it all and their way is the ONLY way. In Asia, everyone call it Ah Soos.

    Reminds me of the fact when I studied in the UK, I ate my food (rice)with my hands. The white people said I was barbaric and uneducated. You see, they are so ignorant, they think the ONLY way to eat food is by fork and spoon.

    During 9-11, I was abused by white people referring me as a Muslim terrorist. Again, just because your skin is dark, does not mean you are Muslim. They are so stupid, they don’t know there are other religions in the world like Hinduism and Buddism

    In summary, white people are pretty stupid. Hear it from an Asian, white people do not know everything and your way of doing things and pronouncing is not the ONLY way.

    1. And you prove that Asians (if that’s what you really are) can be just as stupid and racist as any other group of people.

    2. What you state can be applied for humans in general, nothing special about having biased view by any one so called race. Having pre-conceptions and personal bias is just something we all have to deal with.

      You also have to understand you too have personal bias and it’s not just other people.

      Btw, I’m half Asian myself. So I know both sides and know that no one has a monopoly on having biased views!

  7. I’ve been calling theme AY-suss for years, and that’s what I’ll continue to call them. What do you mean no one ever heard of them? I’ve been buying their products for around 10 years now.

  8. I have always pronounced it like pegasus and my clients know who or what I am referring too.

    I would think the powers that be at the company who makes the Eee PC (kinda like the singer who use to be called Prince) would not care how you say their company name as long as you are talking (in a positive way) about them and their products.

    1. Plus, I don’t really think that you can expect much in the way of pronunciation when most people can’t even use words correctly. We might as well pronounce Asus as DELL since we seem to enjoy calling computers which aren’t tablets TABLETS. It’s quaint to think that Asus can remedy the general stupidity of today’s technology participant when they can’t even identify where the real problems are.

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