How to pronounce EURO players' names correctly
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Article summary
UEFA EURO 2016 is a great opportunity to introduce yourself to a new language; UEFA.com's team reporters have helped compile this guide to getting the players' names right.
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Article body
UEFA.com presents a rough guide to pronouncing the names of all the players at the finals. Not 100% accurate, but a decent start.
Albania
Getting it spot on is hard for English speakers, but some useful notes: 'xh' is not unlike the 'dg' in hedge. A 'j' is pronounced a bit like an English 'y'. An 'ë' is quite similar to an English 'u'. A 'ç' is something like 'ch'.
Alban Hoxha – Hodge-ah
Orges Shehi – Shay-hee
Arlind Ajeti – A-yeti
Naser Aliji – Ali-yi
Elseid Hysaj – Hoo-sigh
Mërgim Mavraj – Mur-gim Mav-rai
Migjen Basha – Midgen
Lorik Cana – Lo-reek Tsa-na
Ergys Kaçe – Erg-oos Kat-che
Burim Kukeli – Boo-rim Ku-ke-lih
Ermir Lenjani – Ermir Len-ya-nih
Ledjan Memushaj – Led-yan Me-moo-shay
Odise Roshi – Odi-seh Ro-shee
Taulant Xhaka – Taoo-lant Dza-ka
Bekim Balaj – Ba-lay
Sokol Çikalleshi – Sokol Chi-ka-lesh-ee
Shkëlzen Gashi – Shkul-zen
Austria
Basic German-language rules apply – note that an umlauted 'ä', 'ö' or 'ü' sound something similar to 'ae', 'oe', 'ue' in English.
Sebastian Prödl – Prur-dul
György Garics – Gior-jee Ga-ritch
Aleksandar Dragovic – Dra-go-vitch
Zlatko Junuzovic – Ju-nu-zo-vitch
Alessandro Schöpf – Sherpf
Marko Arnautovic – Ar-now-toe-vitch
Lukas Hinterseer – Hin-ter-say-er
Mark Janko – Yan-ko
Belgium
The temptation to pronounce the last 'd' in Eden Hazard's name is apparently to be avoided.
Thibaut Courtois – Tea-bo Coor-twa
Simon Mignolet – Min-yo-let
Toby Alderweireld – Al-der-way-reld
Jordan and Romelu Lukaku – Loe-ka-koe
Thomas Vermaelen – Ver-mah-len
Eden Hazard – Ha-zar
Michy Batshuayi – Bat-shoe-a-yi
Croatia
Basic rules: 'š' is a 'sh', 'č' and 'ć' are a bit like an English 'ch', and 'j' approximates to an English 'y'.
Lovre Kalinić – Low-rey Ka-lin-itch
Danijel Subašić – Su-ba-shitch
Vedran Ćorluka – Chor-loo-ka
Tin Jedvaj – Yed-vay
Dario Srna – Sur-na
Domagoj Vida – Do-ma-goy
Šime Vrsjalko – Shi-may Ver-sal-ee-ko
Milan Badelj – Bad-el-ee
Marcelo Brozović – Brozzo-vitch
Ante Ćorić – Chor-itch
Mateo Kovačić – Ko-va-chitch
Luka Modric – Mod-ritch
Ivan Perišić – Pair-ish-itch
Ivan Rakitić – Rack-it-itch
Duje Čop – Do-yey Chop
Andrej Kramarić – And-ray Kram-ar-itch
Marko Pjaca – Pea-at-sa
Czech Republic
Accents on vowels indicate where the pronunciation should be stressed. An 'š' is a 'sh', a 'č' is a 'ch', but a 'c' is more like a 'ts'. An 'ř' is a bit like 'rj' in English – hence Daniel Kolař just about rhymes with 'go large'.
Petr Čech – Peter Cheh
Tomáš Koubek – Tom-as Koe-beck
Tomáš Vaclík – Vatz-leek
Roman Hubník – Hoob-neek
Michal Kadlec – Kad-letz
Tomáš Sivok – Shi-vock
Marek Suchý – Sue-hee
Borek Dočkal – Dotch-kal
Daniel Kolař – Daniel Koh-lahrj
Ladislav Krejčí – Kray-chee
Jaroslav Plašil – Jo-ro-slav Pla-shil
Daniel Pudil – Daniel Pood-yil
Tomáš Rosičký – Ro-sits-kee
Josef Šural – Shoo-ral
Tomáš Necid – Net-sit
Milan Škoda – Shko-da
England
One that may pose a challenge to the uninitiated – Tottenham's 22-year-old midfielder is a 'Dier', like someone who 'dies'.
Eric Dier – Die-er
France
Basic school French should help. Dimitri Payet's surname sounds like 'pie-ette' – equivalent to the sound of Liam Gallagher from Oasis saying "I ate".
Benoît Costil – Ben-wah Cos-teal
Hugo Lloris – Lyo-reece
Steve Mandanda – Stev Mon-don-dah
Lucas Digne – Loo-cah Dee-nyuh
Christophe Jallet – Ja-lay
Laurent Koscielny – Lo-ron Koss-sea-ell-nee
Eliaquim Mangala – El-ee-a-keam Mon-ga-la
Bacary Sagna – Ba-ka-ree San-ya
N'Golo Kanté – N-go-lo Kon-tay
Dimitri Payet – Di-mi-tree Pie-ette
Morgan Schneiderlin – Shnay-der-lan
André-Pierre Gignac – Andre-pee-air Jin-yack
Olivier Giroud – Ol-iv-ee-eh Ji-roo
Antoine Griezmann – On-twan Gree-ez-man
Anthony Martial – On-ton-ee Mar-sea-al
Germany
An umlaut on 'ä', 'ö' or 'ü' is comparable to 'ae', 'oe', 'ue' in English. Note: Joshua Kimmich – 'ich' as in "ich bin ein Berliner" rather than Baby You're A Rich Man.
Manuel Neuer – Noy-ah
Jérôme Boateng – Je-rom Bow-a-teng
Benedikt Höwedes – Hoe-ve-des
Joshua Kimmich – Kim-ikh
Emre Can – Kan
Mario Götze – Gert-suh
Hungary
One of the few European languages that do not belong to the Indo-European group, Hungarian is not as percussive-sounding as it looks.
Dénes Dibusz – Day-nesh Di-boos
Péter Gulácsi – Goo-lat-chi
Gábor Király – Kee-rye
Barnabás Bese – Beh-sheh
Richárd Guzmics – Gooz-mitch
Roland Juhász – Yoo-hass
Mihály Korhut – Mi-high Kor-hoot
Balász Dzsudzsák – Bol-azh Joo-jaack
Ádám Nagy – Nah-dge
Daniel Böde – Buh-deh
Zoltán Gera – Ger-ah
Gergő Lovrencsics – Ger-gur Lov-ren-chitch
Krisztián Németh – Nay-met
Nemanja Nikolić – Nem-an-ya Ni-kol-itch
Tamás Priskin – Tom-ash Prish-kin
Ádám Szalai – Sal-ah-ee
Iceland
Vowel sounds are not exactly what English speakers might like them to be.
Haukur Heidar Hauksson – How-koor Hey-thar Howk-son
Arnor Ingvi Traustasson – Ar-nor Eeng-vee Troy-sta-son
Kári Árnason – Cow-ree Our-na-son
Elmar and Birkir Bjarnason – Byard-na-son
Rúnar Már Sigurjónsson – Roo-nar Maur Seeg-ur-yo-nson
Italy
The commonly-made mistake is to pronounce a 'ch' like an English 'ch' – it is more like a 'k'. Lorenzo Insigne is a tough one to get spot on – linguists may note that his 'gn' works like a Spanish 'ñ'.
Gianluigi Buffon – Jan-loo-ee-jee Boo-fon
Federico Marchetti – Mar-kett-ee
Andrea Barzagli – Bar-zal-yee
Giorgio Chiellini – Jor-joh Key-eh-lean-ee
Mattea De Sceglio – Deh Shil-yo
Federico Bernardeschi – Ber-nar-desk-ee
Emmanuele Giaccherini – Em-an-well-eh Ja-ker-ee-nee
Éder – Eh-dair
Stephan El Shaarawy – El Sha-rah-wee
Lorenzo Insigne – In-sin-yuh
Graziano Pellè – Grat-zee-ah-no Peh-leh
Northern Ireland
Common sense for most speakers in the British Isles, though worth stressing that McCullough and McLaughlin in this case are 'kh' sounds rather than 'ff' sounds.
Gareth McAuley – Mick-kaw-lee
Luke McCullough – Mick-kulla
Conor McLaughlin – Mick-lock-lin
Poland
Polish is a much softer sounding language than all the 'k's and 'z's would suggest. A 'Ł' or 'ł' is a little bit like an English 'w', while the subscript accent on an 'ę' or an 'ą' subtly adds an 'n' to the vowel.
Łukasz Fabiański – Woo-cash Fab-yan-ski
Wojciech Szczęsny – Voy-chekh Sh-chen-sni
Artur Jędrzejczyk – Yen-jay-chick
Tomasz Jodłowiec – Yodd-wo-vetz
Michał Pazdan – Mi-how
Łukasz Piszczek – Woo-cash Pish-check
Bartosz Salamon – Bar-tosh
Jakub Błaszczykowski – Ya-koob Blash-chi-kov-ski
Kamil Grosicki – Gro-sich-ki
Grzegorz Krychowiak – G-ze-gosh Cri-ho-viack
Krzysztof Mączyński – K-shish-toff Mon-chin-ski
Sławomir Peszko – S-wha-vo-mir Pesh-ko
Robert Lewandowski – Le-van-dov-ski
Arkadiusz Milik – Ar-ka-dioosh My-lick
Filip Starzyński – Sta-zynn-ski
Mariusz Stępiński – Mar-yush Stenn-pin-ski
Portugal
Contrary to what most English speakers imagine, Portuguese sounds very different to Spanish. The 'r' at the start of Rui or Renato is a little bit like a rolled 'r' in French. The second vowel in 'Alves' and 'Gomes' gets squashed down into a 'sh' – e.g. Alvsh, Gomsh.
Anthony Lopes – Lop-us
Rui Patrício – Khoo-wee Pah-tree-see-oh
Bruno Alves – Alvsh
Pepe – Pep
Raphael Geirreiro – Gur-ray-roh
André Gomes – Gomsh
João Mario – Joo-ow
Renato Sanches – Khrenato
Vieirinha – Vea-ay-rea-niah
Ricardo Quaresma – Khri-car-do Qua-re-sh-ma
Republic of Ireland
Most of the names will be familiar to fans of football in the British Isles; notice that the 'gh' in 'Keogh' is not the same as the 'gh' in 'cough'. The Irish name 'Ciaran' is equivalent to the more common 'Kieran' in this case.
Richard Keogh – Kee-oh
Ciaran Clark - Key-ran
Romania
A 'c' on its own is often more like a 'ch' in English, whereas a 'ch' is more like a 'k'. An 'ş' is approximate to 'sh' while the subscript accented 'ţ' is more like 'ts' in English. Hence Răzvan's surname sounds not like one rat but many.
Ciprian Tătăruşanu – Chip-ree-an Ta-ta-roo-sha-noo
Vlad Chiricheş – Ki-ri-kesh
Dragoş Grigore – Dra-gosh
Aleksandru Măţel – Mat-sel
Cosmin Moţi – Mot-see
Răzvan Raţ – Rats
Aleksandru Chipciu – Kip-chee-oo
Adrian Prepeliţă – Pre-pel-its-a
Nicolae Stanciu – Stan-chee-oo
Gabriel Torje – Tor-zhe
Claudiu Keşerü – Ke-share-oo
Bogdan Stancu – Stan-koo
Russia
Vowel sounds and the way they are stressed present the biggest challenges for English speakers, with common first names often not sounding quite like their transcribed equivalents – hence Igor = Igar, Roman = Raman, Denis = Dinis, Oleg = Aleg.
Igor Akinfeev – Ig-ar A-kin-fey-eff
Fedor Smolov – Fiodar
Aleksandr Golovin – Gala-vin
Dmitri Kombarov – Kam-bar-ov
Dmitri Torbinski – Tar-bin-ski
Aleksandr Kokorin – Ka-kor-in
Guilherme – Gi-li-erm-ay
Slovakia
Rules similar to Czech: an 'š' is a 'sh', a 'č' is a 'ch', but a 'c' is more like a 'ts'. A 'Ď' – with the superscript accent – sounds something like the 'dg' in 'hedge'.
Matúš Kozáčik – Ma-tush Koz-aa-chick
Ján Mucha – Mu-kha
Ján Ďurica – Djoo-ritz-ah
Tomáš Hubočan – Hoo-bo-chan
Milan Škriniar – Shkrin-ee-ar
Martin Škrtel – Shkr-tel
Ján Greguš – Gre-goosh
Marek Hamšík – Ham-sheek
Patrik Hrošovský – Hro-shov-ski
Juraj Kucka – Koots-ka
Dušan Švento – Doo-shan Shvent-o
Michal Ďuriš – Djoo-rish
Stanislav Šesták – Shes-tark
Spain
Getting it exactly right is tough for the uninitiated, but the following pronunciations may get you a bit closer. César Azpilicueta's Chelsea team-mates famously nicknamed him 'Dave' to avoid the difficulty of pronouncing his surname.
Iker Casillas – Ee-ker Ca-see-yas
David de Gea – De-hay-er
César Azpilicueta – Ath-pili-coo-et-a
Héctor Bellerín – Bay-yer-reen
Juanfran – Hoo-an-fran
Gerard Piqué – Pee-kay
Mikel San José – San-ho-say
Sergio Busquets – Boo-skets
Cesc Fàbregas – Sesk
Koke – Ko-kay
Sweden
Swedish players in the Premier League have clearly become accustomed to having their names mispronounced.
Andreas Isaksson – Ee-sak-son
Victor Lindelöf – Lin-de-love
Martin Olsson – Ool-son
Albin Ekdal – Ee-ek-dal
Emil Forsberg – Fosh-berry
Kim Källström – Shell-strome
Marcus Berg – Berry
Emir Kujovic – Ku-yo-vitch
Switzerland
In addition to Switzerland's mix of native languages – French, Swiss German and Italian – the prominence of players with Albanian and Kosovar roots makes things even more complicated.
François Moubandje – Moo-band-jee
Fabian Schär – Share
Blerim Džemaili – Je-my-lee
Xherdan Shaqiri – Cher-dan Scha-ki-ri
Granit Xhaka – Cha-ka
Shani Tarashaj – Ta-ra-shai
Turkey
Umlauts do a similar job as in the Germanic languages, an 'ş' is a bit like an English 'sh' and a 'c' more like a 'j'. The problem characters are the 'ğ' and the dotless 'ı' – the former is almost like a gap in the word denoting where an English 'g' should have been but isn't. UEFA.com's Turkey team reporter Çetin Cem Yılmaz says of the 'ı': "that letter is slightly pronounced; not like 'ee' but hard to describe".
Ahmet Çalık – Jal-ukh
Gökhan Gönül – Ger-kan Ger-nool
İsmail Köybaşı – Ees-my-il Koy-ba-shuh
Şener Özbayraklı – She-ner Erz-by-rak-ler
Caner Erkin – Ja-ner
Hakan Çalhanoğlu – Ha-kan Chal-han-och-loo
Nuri Şahin – Sha-hin
Oğuzhan Özyakup – O-hoo-zhan Erz-ya-kup
Olcay Şahan – Ol-jai Sha-han
Selçuk İnan – Sel-chuk Ee-nan
Volkan Şen – Shen
Yunus Mallı – You-nus Mal-i
Ukraine
Transcribed – like Russian – from the Cyrillic alphabet, Ukrainian is notably easier to pronounce. Names largely sound like they look in print. The number of 'y's might throw some English speakers, so worth noting that they can generally be treated as English 'i's (Mykyta is Mi-ki-ta and not Mie-kie-ta). An 'iy' is approximately the same as an English 'ee' – hence 'Andriy' = 'Und-ree'.
Yevhen Khacheridi – Ha-che-ri-di
Wales
Mostly straightforward, but just in case ...
Owain Fôn Williams – O-wayne Von Will-ee-ams