Pronunciation Guide for Database and Tool Names

One of the most common sources of embarrassment for non-native English speakers in tech meetings is mispronouncing a well-known tool or database name. The good news is that even native English speakers disagree on some of these — so you are not alone. But knowing the widely accepted pronunciation will help you sound confident and prepared.

This guide covers the most commonly mispronounced database and infrastructure tool names, with phonetic guides and audio-friendly descriptions.

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Database Names

PostgreSQL

Correct pronunciation: “post-GRES-cue-el” or, informally, “post-GRES”

The “SQL” part is said as individual letters: S-Q-L, not “sequel.” Many engineers simply say “Postgres” in conversation.

“We’re running PostgreSQL 15 on the primary database server.” “Just say ‘Postgres’ — everyone will know what you mean.”

Common mistake: Saying “post-GRAY-skul” or “post-gree-SKU-el.”

MySQL

Correct pronunciation: “my-ESS-cue-el”

Never “my-sequel” — unlike Microsoft SQL Server, which is traditionally called “sequel server.”

“The legacy system uses MySQL 5.7.”

SQLite

Correct pronunciation: “ESS-cue-el-LITE”

“For local development we use SQLite — no setup required.”

Cassandra

Correct pronunciation: “kuh-ZAN-druh”

The stress is on the second syllable. Named after the Greek mythological prophet.

“We chose Cassandra for its write throughput and geographic distribution capabilities.”

DynamoDB

Correct pronunciation: “DY-nuh-mo-dee-bee”

Break it into parts: dy-na-mo + DB (said as individual letters D-B).

“All user session data is stored in DynamoDB with a five-minute TTL.”

Redis

Correct pronunciation: “RED-iss”

Short and simple — the stress is on the first syllable. It stands for Remote Dictionary Server.

“We use Redis for caching API responses and managing rate limits.”

Elasticsearch

Correct pronunciation: “ee-LAS-tik-search”

Four syllables. The “Elastic” part is said clearly, like the English word elastic.

“Elasticsearch powers the full-text search across our documentation.”

MongoDB

Correct pronunciation: “mon-GO-dee-bee”

The “DB” at the end is said as individual letters: D-B.

“Our content management system stores documents in MongoDB.”

CockroachDB

Correct pronunciation: “COCK-roach-dee-bee”

Yes, it really is named after the insect. Say it confidently.

“We evaluated CockroachDB for its distributed SQL capabilities.”

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Messaging and Streaming Tools

Kafka

Correct pronunciation: “KAF-kuh”

Named after the author Franz Kafka. The stress is on the first syllable.

“All events are published to Kafka topics and consumed by downstream services.”

RabbitMQ

Correct pronunciation: “RAB-it-em-cue”

MQ stands for Message Queue — say the letters M and Q separately.

“RabbitMQ handles our email notification queue.”

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Infrastructure Tools

Kubernetes

Correct pronunciation: “koo-ber-NET-eez”

This is one of the most commonly mispronounced names in tech. Five syllables. Often shortened to “K8s” in writing (said as “kates”).

“The application runs on a Kubernetes cluster managed by EKS.”

Terraform

Correct pronunciation: “TER-uh-form”

Three syllables. Like “terraform” (to transform a planet’s environment).

“Our infrastructure is defined as code using Terraform.”

Nginx

Correct pronunciation: “EN-jin-ex”

This one surprises many people. It is not “en-GINKS” or “en-JINKS” — it is “en-jin-ex.”

“Nginx serves as our reverse proxy and handles SSL termination.”

Ansible

Correct pronunciation: “AN-suh-bul”

Three syllables. The word comes from science fiction (a device for instant communication).

“We manage server configuration with Ansible playbooks.”

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A Quick Reference Table

Tool	Pronunciation	Notes
PostgreSQL	post-GRES-cue-el	Often shortened to “Postgres”
MySQL	my-ESS-cue-el	Not “my-sequel”
Cassandra	kuh-ZAN-druh	Stress on second syllable
DynamoDB	DY-nuh-mo-dee-bee	DB = individual letters
Redis	RED-iss	Stress on first syllable
Kubernetes	koo-ber-NET-eez	Often called “K8s”
Nginx	EN-jin-ex	Not “en-GINKS”
Kafka	KAF-kuh	Named after Franz Kafka

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The safest rule: listen to how senior engineers at your company say these names and follow their lead. In many cases, there are regional variations — and as long as you are consistent and confident, people will understand you. Pronunciation matters less than clarity.

In Practice: Navigating Nuance – Beyond the Phonetic Guide

Pronunciation is one thing; sounding like a professional in a technical setting is quite another. It’s not just about getting the vowel sounds right, though that’s certainly crucial. As a non-native English speaker, you’re likely aware of subtle differences in rhythm and intonation that can completely change how your words are perceived. Consider this: a slightly hesitant delivery, even with perfect pronunciation, might be interpreted as uncertainty. Conversely, overly assertive or rapid speech can come across as arrogant or dismissive.

The goal isn’t to mimic a native speaker verbatim – that’s often impossible and frankly, unhelpful. Instead, it’s about adopting the patterns of confident, clear communication common in professional environments. This means paying attention to how you structure sentences, especially when explaining technical concepts. For example, during a code review comment on a pull request, you might hear something like: “I noticed this query is utilizing a full table scan for customer_orders. Perhaps we could explore adding an index on the order_date column to improve performance. It’s a relatively straightforward change and should align with our current indexing strategy.” Notice the careful phrasing – acknowledging the issue, proposing a solution, and framing it within established practices. Avoid abrupt statements like “This query is slow!” which lacks context and doesn’t invite collaboration.

Another common scenario is during a Slack discussion about database schema changes. A colleague might type: “Hey team, just wanted to flag that we’re migrating the product_details table from PostgreSQL to Cassandra. We’ll be focusing on denormalization for frequently accessed fields – specifically, product IDs and names – to optimize read performance. We’ll also be implementing a caching layer using Redis to further reduce load on the database.” Again, observe the detail and justification provided. It demonstrates not just knowledge of the tools but an understanding of why those choices were made, aligning with business requirements.

Finally, remember that clear pronunciation builds trust. When someone can confidently articulate technical details, it signals competence and authority – qualities valued in any professional setting. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if you’re unsure about a term or phrase; genuine curiosity is always appreciated far more than an attempted but ultimately incorrect pronunciation.

Here’s a simple example of using psql to query a database:

psql -h your_host -U your_user -d your_database -c "SELECT * FROM product_catalog WHERE category = 'electronics';"