Here's How You Pronounce Uniqlo (The Right Way)

Confused about how to pronounce the brand name Uniqlo?

Not to worry, it's pretty easy - and I'll run you through it slowly so you don't miss a thing.

To pronounce the brand name "Uniqlo," keep in mind it's a three syllable word:

First syllable sounds like the word "you."

Second syllable sounds like the word "knee."

Third syllable sounds like the world "low", but with a "k" sound at the beginning of it. So "klow."

Now put them together... You-knee-klow.

Yup, you've said it.

There are a slew of other ways you can express these sounds phonetically.

Here are some more:

• "yuni-clo"
• "yoo-nee-klow"
• "yu-knee-clo"
• "yuni-klo"
• "uni-clo"

Hopefully if you weren't able to quite get the pronunciation of one of the syllables from my guide above, one of these will help you figure out how it's said in English!

Some people point out that in Japanese, Uniqlo is pronounced differently.

The Japanese pronounce Uniqlo in four syllables:

First syllable sounds like the word "you."

Second syllable sounds like the word "knee."

Third syllable sounds like the word "coo."

Fourth syllable sounds like the word "row."

Now put them together... You-knee-coo-row.

That's ユニクロ in Japanese syllables.

This is true, and some will use it to state the (in my opinion) incorrect assumption that because Uniqlo is pronounced differently in Japanese, that means anyone pronouncing the brand name "Uniqlo" as "you-knee-klow" in English is saying the brand name incorrectly.

But I don't personally think this is an accurate way of looking at things.

Uniqlo is an abbreviation of "Unique Clothes" - so calling Uniqlo by the pronunciation above (which can also be written out as Uni-Clo, i.e. the first part of the word "Unique" + the first syllable of the word "Clothes") makes a lot more sense if you're a native English speaker.

Just like different brand names are pronounced differently in other languages and in other countries it's perfectly valid for English speakers to pronounce Uniqlo as "yu-knee-clo" in their own language.

All sorts of brands, from Nike and Adidas, to McDonalds, IKEA, and Auchan, sound very different depending on where you are in the world, and which language the native speakers are pronouncing the name in.

Likely even the accent of a particular region also plays into the pronunciation of some brands - though I don't have examples of this - but it would make sense.

Hope that explains things!