How is NaN pronounced?

NaN is most commonly pronounced "nan" (/næn/). "nan" (rhymes with "can") or "N-A-N".

Is NaN sometimes pronounced "N A N"?

Yes — "N A N" (/ˌɛn eɪ ˈɛn/) is one of the alternate readings in active use.

How to pronounce NaN (and the alternate readings)

How to pronounce NaN

cs-term contested

nan /næn/

or: N A N /ˌɛn eɪ ˈɛn/

NaN is most commonly pronounced "nan" (/næn/). This is one of several readings in active use; the developer community hasn't converged on a single answer.

"nan" (rhymes with "can") or "N-A-N".

Alternate readings you might hear:

"N A N" /ˌɛn eɪ ˈɛn/

Source: Wikipedia

Pronouncing project and product names correctly avoids the small but persistent friction of being gently corrected during standups, conference Q&As, and team calls. Hearing the word a few times locks in the right reading better than reading IPA ever will. Pronounce is a community-maintained dictionary — every entry tagged with a confidence level and (where possible) a citable source.

Hear it from the command line

$ say-it NaN # primary × 3 + audible "or: …" for each alternate

$ say-it --alt NaN # focus on the first alternate

$ say-it --all NaN # primary AND every alternate, each repeated

$ say-it --solo NaN # primary only, no "or: …" tail

$ say-it --why NaN # print the dict entry with source URL

Install the CLI: git clone https://github.com/anzy-renlab-ai/pronounce.git && cd pronounce && ./install.sh

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How to pronounce NaN

Hear it from the command line

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