How do you pronounce Knipex?
If you have no idea what Knipex is, here is a link to the Knipex tools we’ve posted about over the years.
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I tend to pronounce Knipex as Kin-i-pex, because that’s how I heard it pronounced by Knipex reps in product videos a long time ago. This seems to be the common pronunciation.
I have heard it pronounced by some users as Kni-pex, sounding similar to knife, and also Ni-pex, as in nickel.
And the official end to the debate is…
Kuh-nip-x.
I was pretty close. Were you?
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Will
yeah when I first heard about them, I went and watched one of their promotional videos to hear a pronunciation. When I first saw it, I thought it was nip x
Dt
Me too. There are a few companies here and there that I still don’t know how to properly pronounce their name.
Peter
As a native german speaker pronouncing german brands in english is one of the hardest thing for me.
Kurt
I have been building a large radio controlled model of the battleship Gneisenau. The guys at the pond have a fun time with that one LOL
John
Ni-pex, as in nickel for me – guess I butchered it. And, will continue to do so cuz I am stuck in my ways 🙂 I do appreciate knowing the proper way to say it though
Jim Felt
Agreed.
Jared
Me too. Assumed it was a silent K like knife.
Adrian
Yea, don’t put a K in front of an N and expect people to pronounce the K!
fred
My many sojourns to Germany should have taught me this.
I’ve been pronouncing it “Nigh-Pex” – should have realized its like the name Knute.
Meanwhile there was a Monty Python skit that had these lines:
“Interviewer: Good evening. I have with me in the studio tonight one of the country’s leading skin specialists – Raymond Luxury Yacht.
Raymond: That’s not my name.
Interviewer: I’m sorry – Raymond Luxury Yach-t.
Raymond: No, no, no – it’s spelt Raymond Luxury Yach-t, but it’s pronounced ‘Throatwobbler Mangrove’.”
I think the lead in was something to do with how the pronunciation of English words like Worcestershire can trip you up.
ToolGuyDan
If you’re ever confused, just remember that read is pronounced like lead, and read is pronounced like lead.
(Joke pronunciation guide: reed-leed / red-led.)
Nate B
You will enjoy a poem called The Chaos by Gerard Nolst Trenité. I won’t paste it here as it’s too long, but see how many verses you can read aloud…
Rufus
Now do Knaack…
Jared
The toughest company name to pronounce I know of is Acerbis.
It’s Italian. I pronounced it “ah-sir-bis” for years before finding out it is actually: “Ah-chair-bees”.
Go figure.
fred
Hard “c” from Latin. Cicero (pronounced Kick-ah-row) was the Roman orator – while Cicero (pronounced sis-ah-row) is the suburb of Chicago. Similarly Caesar (pronounced Kai-sir – like the roll) the roman emperor versus Caesar (pronounced see-zer) the salad. With surnames and company names pronunciation is best left to the owner of the name as to how they like it said – regardless of its spelling or how others with names spelled the same wish to have theirs pronounced.
fred
BTW – I should have also said that in English speaking countries we tend to Anglicize – hence thinking the “K” in Knipex might be silent. And, few if any go around talking about Julius Kaiser – unless you might be in a Latin class or happen to have an acquaintance by that name.
EmergencyCheck
I got clued in years ago when they had a rebus style explanation on a t shirt for all us rubes
https://www.mxsouth.com/acerbis-retro-t-shirts.htm
Jsimp
I pronounce it K-nack.. That’s probably wrong but I’ve been saying it for years
TonyT
Well, my favorite German brands include Sick (sensors and safety) and Assman (connectors)
Mickey
I’ve been pronouncing it that way as long as I’ve know about them, more as a joke like kuh nife for knife, and I’ve been correct all along. Although I’m familiar with the K’s and QU’s in Europe.
fred
Like “dock of the bay” – quai de la baie – mostly pronounced key duh la bay.
But what I open with in France is: je parle un petit peu – then beg forgiveness
Italian often gets me. I have only a modest facility with what passes for the national language – but veneziano , barese and other dialects spoken quickly are beyond my comprehension. And, with some of the other languages like Hungarian and Finnish – I hard pressed to even catch the meaning of a word.
If and when we get back to travelling – I’m happy that most Europeans are very accommodating – and will work hard on their English – especially when they see you trying but faltering in their native tongue.
Doresoom
I used to pronounce it nigh-pex, until I learned the error of my ways a few years ago.
I still get people trying to correct me about my proper Ree-oh-bee pronunciation of Ryobi on YouTube though. The usual misconception is Rie-oh-bee.
Frank D
Knipex is pronounced Kni-pex … simple as that. There is no extra i or anything.
Ed
I always pronounced it “want” in my head, but when I say that loud it sounds more like “not in my budget” (yet).
Robin
If you’re german or have german speakers in the family, the “official” pronunciation seems as it should be
Bob
I was in the nigh-pex camp. Thanks for the correction.
Reminds me of another Geman firm Heckler and Koch. Everyone agrees that they are fine pieces of engineering but no one knows how to pronounce it. Most agree the first part is like the mean guy in the crowd yelling at the stage performer. But is the second part like the sugar water or the male chicken?
Vards Uzvards
Koch brothers – they got German ancestors, right? How their name’s pronounced gets explained in every article, or book about them 🙂
Axeman
I used to be a gun dealer and sold lots to f H&K’s and from the main offense ce they said it’s pronounced heckler and coke
Rx9
Congratulations, reader! You can now fix your Por-shuh Tie-con the German way, using your Kuh-nip-x socket set. If that doesn’t work out, you can always resort to fixing your Porsh Tay-Can using your Ny-pex socket set.
Bob
True the Koch brothers (pronounced coke) are of German decent. But they do not own the arms manufacturer H&K 🙂 Its spelled the same but names are often pronounced differently regionally. And you hear about how names got butchered during the immigration process years ago.
Anyway Ive never been able to get an official pronunciation from anyone at H&K. I will just go allong possibly saying it wrong like nigh-pex. dang it!!! I mean kuh -Nip -x…. this is going to take a while lol
Steve
I pronounce it “out of my league”. Good stuff just too expensive
fred
When we bought our first pair of Knipex plier wrenches 20 years ago – I thought that we’d try them out and also decide: “nice but too expensive” compared to Channelock. But after passing them around – all the crews wanted them – and convinced us that savings from increased productivity and no-buggered-up polished brass/chrome fittings would pay off. First cost is not always final cost in business – but sometimes other tools and solutions are less expensive – especially for home use where time may not be as big a factor.
Steve
What is funny Fred is that almost anything DeWalt makes in their 20v Max line is “gotta’ have” and I don’t need it any more for home use than the Knipex. Apparently the Knipex just wasn’t high enough priced to fit into my gotta’ have list. Sometimes I talk to myself and then we both laugh and laugh.
fred
Some comic once said “talking to yourself is fine, arguing with yourself is not so good, but losing the arguments is bad.”
Nathan
LOL so I pronounce it Stal willie. (which I know is also wrong but nobody around me knows that it is)
All the Knipex stuff I own came in a kit sourced from Stahlwille. Another german company that I mostly compare to Snap-On or MAC.
Anyway they are rebranded Knipex pliers which is easy to see when you put them next to their Knipex counterpart.
Meanwhile great thread. This might shoud get extended to other names
Like METABO, MAFEL, etc etc Language is a funny thing sometimes.
928'er
adidas = awe dee dass (three syllables)
Lancia = lawn cha (two syllables)
Porsche = poor sha (two syllables)
Mickey
Porsche owners prefer if you call them porches.
Matthew S. Carpenter
“Nigh-Pex”
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
Besides, Nigh-pex sounds like Knife-Ex, which is just plain cooler Kuh-nip-x, which sounds like conniption.